HEALTH

Anaemia

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of aplastic anaemia there were in each NHS hospital trust in each year since 2002.

Anna Soubry: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Continuing Care

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many continuing healthcare cases are outstanding which (a) require assessment involving current continuing healthcare patients and (b) involve retrospective cases to review deceased patients.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect information on the numbers of NHS Continuing Healthcare cases awaiting assessment.

Dementia

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the (a) cost effectiveness and (b) effectiveness in comparison with anti-psychotic medication of the use of cognitive stimulation therapy for the treatment of dementia; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: We have not made any assessment of. cognitive stimulation therapy. Guidance on treatments and therapies is issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In its guidance on dementia, supporting people with dementia and their carers in health and social care (2006), NICE identified cognitive stimulation as an area where more research is needed. Cognitive stimulation therapy is one of a number of treatments and therapies available for dementia. Clinicians can, and do, decide which course of treatment to prescribe to individual patients with dementia, based on each individual's specific needs.
	Antipsychotic drugs should only be prescribed for people with dementia when appropriate and when other non-pharmacological treatments have been considered. The national audit of antipsychotic prescribing for people with dementia (published in July 2012) showed a 52% reduction in the level of prescribing.

Domestic Violence

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many admissions to hospitals in England and Wales related to incidents of domestic violence and abuse in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12;
	(2)  whether clinical commissioning groups have a responsibility to deliver improvements in the recognition of, and response to, victims of domestic violence and abuse;
	(3)  what funding is provided by his Department for (a) staff, (b) training and (c) resources to deliver strategies to improve recognition and response to victims of domestic violence and abuse by healthcare providers.

Anna Soubry: Information on domestic violence is not collected centrally. We are unable to reply for Wales as health is a devolved matter.
	Victims of domestic abuse use a variety of national health service services such as general practitioner surgeries and walk-in clinics in primary care as well as accident and emergency departments for treatment of an injury. They do not always disclose to these services that an injury occurred because of domestic abuse.
	As members of health and wellbeing boards, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for developing and implementing improvements for victims of domestic violence and abuse as part of their commissioning plans, based on local need. CCGs will agree priorities with their local partners which will be reflected in joint health and wellbeing strategies, based on joint strategic need assessments. CCGs will have due regard for, and seek to comply with, the Public Sector Equality Duty to reduce health inequalities. The Public Sector Duty in the Equality Act 2010 means CCGs will be responsible for assessing the equality implications of their work on people with protected characteristics, which includes the sex of a person. NHS England will assess how well CCGs achieve their commissioning plans in relation to these duties.
	Information regarding funding provided by the Department to improve recognition and response to victims of violence is not held centrally. On 1 April 2013, Health Education England (HEE) assumed a key role as the new leadership organisation responsible for ensuring that education, training, and workforce development drives the highest quality public health and patient outcomes. HEE will oversee strategic planning and development of the health and public health workforce, and allocate education and training resources. This is set out in “Liberating the NHS: Developing the Healthcare Workforce from Design to Delivery”, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library and is available by visiting:
	www.gov.uk
	and searching the document title in the publication section.

Fertility

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2013, Official Report, columns 1155-6W, on fertility, who in the NHS Commissioning Board is responsible for overseeing infertility service provision across England.

Anna Soubry: NHS England has informed us that oversight of the commissioning of NHS fertility services will be the responsibility of its Medical Directorate headed by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh.

General Medical Council

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the High Court ruling on Cohen v General Medical Council in 2008, what progress his Department is making in reviewing the General Medical Council's fitness to practise procedures.

Daniel Poulter: The Department is aware of the Cohen case. The Department has not carried out a formal review as a direct result of the case, but the following work in relation to the General Medical Council's fitness to practise procedures is being undertaken.
	The Department has commissioned a review of the regulation of health care professionals, by the Law Commission. This programme of work will advise on legislation to modernise the legal framework under which the regulatory bodies operate, and provide flexibility to allow them to discharge their statutory duties efficiently. The Commission has considered relevant case law and the test for impairment of fitness to practise within this. The Law Commission's findings and recommendations are expected to be finalised in early 2014.
	In addition, the General Medical Council has consulted on proposals to improve and modernise its fitness to practise adjudication processes, to enhance the independence of adjudication while continuing to protect patients and the public. The Department is currently working with the General Medical Council towards draft legislation for consultation to facilitate changes to achieve these objectives. Relevant case law will also be taken into account within this work.

Housing: Disability

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost to the NHS was of adapting the homes of people who have difficulties with mobility in the last five years.

Norman Lamb: Most housing adaptations are funded by local authorities and not the national health service, therefore information on the cost to the NHS is not collected centrally.
	The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), which is administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and distributed by local authorities (LA), helps people to remain independent in their own homes by providing extra support, devices and adaptations. Adaptations could range from stair lifts and grab rails through to substantial reconfigurations to make homes more accessible. In recognition of the impact of suitable housing on individual wellbeing, the Department of Heath topped up the DFG by £40 million in 2012-13. This was in addition to the £745 million already announced for 2010-11 to 2014-15, bringing the total to £785 million.
	Central Government funding and local authority contributions for the DFG since 2008-09 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Total 
			 DFG (DCLG) 146 157 167 200 670 
			 LA contribution 131 139 137 97 504

Nanotoxicologies

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the potential use of analytical electron microscopy in studies of orphan diseases which may be a consequence of nanotoxicologies; and what representations his Department has received on the regulation of nanotoxicologies.

Norman Lamb: The Department has not made any assessment of the potential use of analytical electron microscopy in studies of orphan diseases which may be a consequence of nanotoxicologies.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) believes that current European Union regulations for medicines and medical devices are sufficiently stringent and broad in scope to cover risks associated with nanotechnologies. The MHRA will keep nanotechnology developments under review and will work with the European Commission, European Medicines Agency and the European Medical Devices Expert Working Group to assess the relevant existing regulations with regard to nanotechnologies.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 March 2013, Official Report, column 1092W, on NHS: disclosure of information, what progress the Department has made in communicating with former employees who may have been party to a compromise agreement that may have included a confidentiality clause.

Daniel Poulter: A letter, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health, was sent to professional regulators and trade unions on 17 April 2013.
	The purpose of the letter is to help ensure that as many staff as possible who may have signed a compromise agreement (including agreements reached as a result of judicial mediation) since the introduction of the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) in 1999, receive the message that regardless of what the agreement they signed says, they are still able to make a protected disclosure if they decide to do so.
	National health service organisations do not hold up-to-date contact details for ex-employees and so the task of writing to every individual through their former employer is not practicable. By enlisting the support of the professional regulators and trade unions to engage with their registrants and members to reinforce the message in the letter, it should be possible to reach those staff who have signed agreements and then moved either to another NHS organisation or to a job within the wider public or voluntary sector.

Social Services

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) registered managers and (b) employees of Care Quality Commission-registered companies have been served official warning notices in each of the last five years; and how many such people have received later warnings or a dismissal.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England.
	The CQC has regulatory powers in relation to providers of regulated activities and registered managers. Other than registered managers, it does not have any powers in relation to individual employees of registered providers, but is required to work with other bodies if it has concerns about their competence.
	The CQC has provided the following information.
	The CQC is unable to provide the information in the format requested because its recording system currently does not distinguish between warning notices that are served to providers and those that are provided to registered managers. A manual search of the records would incur disproportionate cost.
	The total number of warning notices that the CQC has issued under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Warning notices 
			 2010-11 17 
			 2011-12 634 
			 2012-13 1,178 
			 Total 1,829 
		
	
	Six providers have been served with enforcement measures, excluding warning notices, after being served a warning notice for a particular outcome. These measures included one cancellation of registration and five notices of proposal to impose conditions on the providers' registration to provide services.

Typhoid

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that national supplies of typhoid vaccine are adequate.

Anna Soubry: Typhoid is rare in this country and is usually associated with travel to countries where sanitation is inadequate.
	We understand from manufacturers that vaccine is available to order and that they are continuing to take actions to ensure that supplies are maintained.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any of the 60 individuals named on the list published by the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe, individuals involved in the tax fraud against Hermitage and the torture and death of Sergei Magnitsky, published in June 2012 have visited the UK in the last year; and if she will disclose the details of any such visits. [Official Report, 9 July 2013, Vol. 566, c. 1MC.]

Mark Harper: It is long-standing policy not to disclose details of records which may be held in relation to arrivals in the United Kingdom. The Home Office Special Cases Directorate is already aware of the individuals on the list and has taken the necessary measures to prevent them being issued visas for travel to the UK.

Confiscation Orders

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unenforced confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 relate to assets worth over (a) £100,000 and (b) £1 million.

Damian Green: Between the coming into force of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and 31 March 2013, confiscation orders not completed are as follows:
	(a) Over £100,000—739
	(b) Over £1 million—87

Confiscation Orders

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 remain unenforced.

Damian Green: Between the coming into force of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and 31 March 2012, there were 35,071 confiscation orders issued of which 29,731 were completed and 5,340 were not completed.

Human Trafficking

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the money confiscated by the police relating to brothels, prostitution, pornography and pimps related to trafficking; and where information on the amount of compensation made available to victims of trafficking is recorded.

Damian Green: It is not possible to identify the proportion of money confiscated by the police through brothels, prostitution, pornography and pimps related to trafficking.
	The Joint Asset Recovery Database contains records of some compensation payments made to victims of trafficking. Only compensation payments made from money recovered under a confiscation order are recorded.

Human Trafficking

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 5 July 2010, Official Report, column 77W, on National Referral Mechanism, whether any record has been kept as to the whereabouts and situation of the 358 individuals referred to the National Referral Mechanism between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010.

Mark Harper: Routine records of the whereabouts and situation of victims referred into the National Referral Mechanism, once they leave Government-funded support, are not held centrally.

Immigration

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will sit on the strategic oversight board overseeing all immigration commands alongside her Department's permanent secretary.

Mark Harper: holding answer 17 April 2013
	We are creating a strategic oversight board for all the constituent parts of the immigration system which will be chaired by the Home Office permanent secretary. Membership will include representatives from the new UK Visas and Immigration and Immigration Enforcement and also from Border Force, immigration policy, the Identity and Passport Service, operational systems management, and finance and corporate services group.

Julian Assange

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of police actions against Mr Julian Assange has been to date.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold this information. This is a matter for the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Members: Correspondence

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letters of 3 January 2013 and 11 February 2013 from the hon. Member for Cardiff West relating to a constituent, Mr Robert Kay.

Mark Harper: I replied to the hon. Member on 16 April 2013.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to her letter of 4 March 2013 to the chief executive of the UK Border Agency, CTS ref B6777/13.

Mark Harper: The Home Office replied to the hon. Member on 16 April 2013.

Passports: Gender Recognition

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if her Department will estimate the cost of allowing a non-gender option on passports.

Mark Harper: A detailed costing exercise has not been undertaken as the Government will not be seeking to change the current male (M) and female (F) markings on British passports.

Police Cautions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people issued with a caution had (a) no previous cautions, (b) one to five previous cautions, (c) six to 10 previous cautions, (d) 11 to 20 previous cautions and (e) over 20 previous cautions in each year from 2002 to 2012 (i) in England and Wales and (ii) by each police authority area.

Jeremy Wright: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	The use of cautions is at its lowest level for more than five years, as is the number of cautions issued to those who have a previous criminal record. However, the public and victims have a right to expect that people who commit serious crimes should be brought before a court. On 3 April 2013 we launched a review into the use of cautions which will focus on the use of cautions for serious offences and persistent offenders.
	Among other things, the review will examine whether there are some offences for which the use of simple cautions is generally inappropriate, the reasons why multiple cautions are given to some criminals and the difference in the use of cautions by police force areas. The review is a significant step to ensuring that cautions are used correctly, in the interests of justice, and command the confidence of the public. The review will be completed by the end of May 2013.
	The figures used to answer the PQ are based on counts of caution occasions. An individual may have more than one caution occasion within each year. Where there is more than one offence on the same occasion only the primary offence is counted for which a caution is given. In addition please note that the police force information only relates to the most recent caution and police forces for previous cautions/convictions may differ.
	Table 1 (part i) and table 2 (part ii) show the number of previous cautions for offenders committing an offence and receiving a caution in each year from 2002 to June 2012, for England and Wales. I have placed a copy of the tables in the House Library.

Recall of Parliament

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the additional cost of police and security as a result of the recall of Parliament on 10 April 2013. [Official Report, 13 May 2013, Vol. 563, c. 3-4MC.]

Damian Green: This information is not collected centrally. The cost of security services on the parliamentary estate is a matter for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).

Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inspections of the accommodation provided for workers on the seasonal agricultural workers scheme took place in 2012.

Mark Harper: In 2012, the Home Office undertook 64 inspections of seasonal agricultural workers scheme (SAWS) farms with accommodation. The Home Office's monitoring of operators includes visiting farms that employ SAWS workers to monitor work and accommodation conditions.
	Employers must provide accommodation for workers under SAWS but workers do not have to accept it and can find their own accommodation if they choose to do so.

UK Border Agency

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of the UK Border Agency and its operations.

Mark Harper: On 26 March the Secretary of State for the Home Department announced that the UK Border Agency would be replaced by two new operational commands sitting within the Home Office. UK Visas and Immigration will be a high-volume service that makes high-quality decisions about who comes here, with a culture of customer satisfaction for business travellers and visitors who want to come here legally. Immigration Enforcement will have law enforcement at its heart and get tough on those who break our immigration laws. Together with the creation of a new strategic oversight board to ensure all component parts of the system are working together effectively, this reorganisation will maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of our immigration system with each command having strong leadership and a distinct culture and focus.

Visits Abroad

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's budget was for overseas travel for officials and Ministers in 2012-13.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not allocate budgets to this level of detail and therefore does not hold this information.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has discussed with his Burmese counterpart the issue of withdrawal by the Burmese Army from ethnic states of Burma.

Hugo Swire: We continue to emphasise to all sides involved in Burma's ethnic conflicts that only comprehensive political negotiation will lead to a sustainable peace across Burma. The role of the military in that process is an important part of those discussions. We acknowledge the progress the Burmese Government have made in signing 10 ceasefire agreements with ethnic armed groups. We continue to encourage the Burmese authorities and the Kachin Independence Organisation to move towards securing the last outstanding ceasefire agreement in Kachin state.
	As part of our support to the peace process, we are working with experts with experience of inter-communal trust- and peace-building in Northern Ireland to support the peace process in Burma and to encourage Burma's own reconciliation efforts. The Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Warsi, met with a delegation of Burmese Ministers, including the lead negotiator for the peace process for the Government, Aung Min, on 15 April to discuss the peace process and how the UK can best support it.

Fossil Fuels: Subsidies

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to discuss fossil fuel subsidy reform at (a) G8 and (b) G20 meetings in 2013.

Sajid Javid: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	The UK continues to support global efforts to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. G20 Finance Ministers reaffirmed their long-standing commitment to phase out “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption” at the February 2013 Finance Ministers' meeting. This work is currently being taken forward at expert level through theG20 Energy Sustainability working group, which will feed back on progress to Ministers.

Sri Lanka

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the BBC World Service's decision to suspend broadcasts in Sri Lanka; and what discussions he has had with the Government of Sri Lanka about interference with that service.

Alistair Burt: The British Government are aware of the BBC's decision to suspend broadcasts on the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). According to the BBC statement made on 26 March, this decision followed
	“continued interruption and interference of BBC Tamil programming on SLBC”.
	We are concerned at reports of interference with programming, and consider the provision of impartial news to be very important as do many people who listened to the service.
	We continue to have serious concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka, including in regards to freedom of opinion and expression, and in light of recent attacks on a number of journalists. During Sri Lanka's Universal Periodic Review in November 2012, we recommended that Sri Lanka should ensure that
	“all citizens are able to freely express their opinions and beliefs without fear of reprisal or retribution, and to invite the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression to visit”.
	The recommendation was rejected by the Sri Lankan Government.
	Officials at our high commission in Colombo regularly make representations to the Sri Lankan Government about our human rights concerns in Sri Lanka, including on freedom of expression. The UK co-sponsored the Sri Lanka resolution passed in the Human Rights Council on 21 March, and we welcome its adoption with the support of a majority of Council members. We look to the Sri Lankan Government to implement the recommendations contained in the resolution and comply with their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, which include the protection of the safety of journalists.

Tibet

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his (a) EU, (b) UN and (c) US counterparts about Tibet and promotion of dialogue with the Chinese authorities.

Hugo Swire: We regularly discuss a range of human rights issues, including Tibet, at official levels with the EU, UN and US. We raised the issue of Tibet through the EU at the UN Human Rights Council in September 2012 and we will continue to raise our concerns about the situation in Tibet through multilateral fora and by working with our like-minded partners.

Tibet

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of China regarding self-immolations in Tibet; and what reports he has received on the criminalisation of self-immolations and the arrest of relatives and friends on charges of incitement.

Hugo Swire: We regularly raise our concerns about self-immolations in Tibet with the Chinese authorities.
	I made a statement on 17 December 2012 where I urged both sides to exercise restraint and called for the resumption of meaningful dialogue:
	http://tinyurl.com/amc4gjw
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), responded to a question in the House of Commons on 5 March 2013, Official Report, column 817, on the issue of Tibet.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials raised their concerns over self-immolations with the Chinese embassy on 12 April 2013. The annual FCO Human Rights Report, published on Monday 15 April, outlines our concerns regarding the situation in Tibet.
	We receive regular reports on the situation in Tibet from non-governmental organisations. We are concerned about reports referring to the criminalisation of self-immolations and we are seeking further information about this issue.
	We will continue to raise our concerns with the Chinese authorities, including at the next UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

Tibet

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests have been made to China for (a) British officials and (b) non-governmental organisations to visit Tibet in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what response was received.

Hugo Swire: In 2012 we made two official requests to visit the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) both of which were refused by the Chinese authorities.
	However, during the last 12 months, British diplomats have made regular visits to Tibetan areas of China outside the TAR. We do not keep records of non-governmental organisations who have requested access to travel to Tibet.

Visits Abroad

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what details of (a) itineraries, (b) costs and (c) other aspects of overseas visits in support of trade and investment by Ministers in his Department are published (i) routinely and (ii) on request.

Hugo Swire: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers have a varied programme when they travel overseas, with trade and investment a priority on all bilateral visits.
	Details of all overseas visits undertaken by Ministers are published on a quarterly basis on the GOV.UK website.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-quarterly-returns-hospitality-gifts-overseas-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

TRANSPORT

Aviation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse attributable to delayed commercial passenger flights in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: The Department for Transport has made no estimate of the cost to the public purse attributable to delayed commercial passenger flights in each of the last five years.

Aviation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by how many hours commercial passenger flights were delayed in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: The Civil Aviation Authority collects and publishes data on delays at 10 UK airports. Estimates of the total number of hours by which commercial passenger flights were delayed in the last five years, based on the CAA punctuality statistics, are given in the following table.
	
		
			 Estimated number of hours by which commercial passenger flights were delayed at the 10 UK airports for which data are available, 2008-12 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Birmingham 25,600 18,100 23,800 14,400 14,300 
			 Edinburgh 25,600 18,300 23,400 16,600 15,500 
			 Gatwick 82,400 60,100 88,100 51,000 53,400 
			 Glasgow 23,300 14,600 18,500 12,700 12,900 
			 Heathrow 134,800 93,200 121,700 94,800 103,700 
			 London City 18,200 8,700 9,800 7,800 7,300 
			 Luton 22,400 17,100 23,900 14,800 13,800 
			 Manchester 58,500 38,100 51,500 37,600 38,400 
			 Newcastle 12,700 8,500 13,000 7,500 7,600 
			 Stansted 36,200 28,200 34,200 18,100 19,000 
			 Total (10 airports) 439,800 304,900 407,900 275,300 285,900

Dementia

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has a dementia strategy.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has no specific strategy for dementia. However, the Department recognises the importance of helping people live well with dementia.
	The Accessibility Action Plan identifies the importance of working with transport operators on staff training and best practice regarding support for disabled passengers, for example travel training schemes, including those with dementia.
	The plan can be found at the following website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accessibility-action-plan

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the most recent research commissioned by his Department into the value of time used for transport appraisals and High Speed 2 (HS2) business time savings; which research body produced that research and under what remit; and whether he proposes that the findings of that research will be incorporated into the assessment of HS2 to be deposited with the hybrid Bill.

Simon Burns: The Department has commissioned the Institute for Transport Studies, Leeds and its associated subcontractors to undertake research into the business value of time used for transport appraisals. The remit of this research project is to investigate the feasibility of different approaches to valuing business travel time savings.
	The Department plans to publish the output of this research and where relevant the findings will be incorporated into the next iteration of the HS2 Economic Case.

Highways Agency: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff the Highways Agency employs at its sites in Cumbria; and what proportion of those are paid at or above the relevant level of the living wage.

Stephen Hammond: The Highways Agency has 17 staff based in Cumbria. They are all paid more than the living wage threshold.

Motorcycles

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the contribution of roadworthiness problems to motorcycle accidents.

Stephen Hammond: While no specific assessment has been made, 1% of all motorcycles involved in accidents in GB in 2011 had at least one vehicle defect recorded as a contributory factor.

Perry Barr Station

Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any central Government funding has been allocated to the improvement or redevelopment of Perry Barr railway station; and whether his Department has received any applications for such funding.

Norman Baker: No central Government funding has been allocated to the improvement or redevelopment of Perry Barr railway station. Nor has any application for such funding been made to the Department for Transport.

Railways

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the devolution of responsibility for regional rail services; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Government remain committed to seeking to implement an appropriate form of rail decentralisation in those parts of England where it is sensible to do so. The Department for Transport is continuing informal discussions with those bodies who submitted expressions of interest in response to the consultation carried out on rail decentralisation in 2012.

Railways: Bus Services

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of passenger rail journeys involved (a) planned and (b) unplanned bus replacement services for each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: This information requested is not held by the Department for Transport. The Office of Rail Regulation has published the total number of rail replacement bus service hours for the years 2009-10 to 2011-12, which are as follows:
	2009-10: 154531
	2010-11: 129662
	2011-12: 121901
	I continue to encourage train operators to reduce wherever practicable the use of buses in place of rail services. I announced last year that we intend removing - from October 2013 - the entitlement for those operating rail replacement bus services to claim Bus Service Operator Grant, to ensure that such services are no longer subsidised by the taxpayer.

Railways: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many train operating companies have taken legal action against his Department following the cancellation of rail franchise competitions.

Simon Burns: Following the decision to cancel the Great Western franchise competition in January 2013, each of the four shortlisted bidders commenced legal proceedings to recover their bid costs. However, these proceedings have since been dismissed by consent with no order as to costs.
	Legal proceedings were brought by one of the shortlisted bidders on the Intercity West Coast refranchising competition prior to the decision to cancel that competition in October 2012. Once the competition under challenge was cancelled, these proceedings became irrelevant. However, the proceedings remain stayed while the parties reach agreement as to costs.

Railways: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent estimate is of the cost to his Department of each cancelled rail franchise competition.

Simon Burns: The most recent estimate of costs for the two cancelled rail franchising competitions are:
	West Coast: £3.725 million;
	Great Western: £1.397 million.

Railways: Franchises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to his Department's press notice published on 25 March 2013, whether the statement that a full franchise timetable has not previously been published is correct.

Simon Burns: The press notice refers to publishing a “detailed transparent timetable”. Although a high level timetable has previously been published at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/4020/rail-franchising-timetable.pdf
	the 26 March 2013 announcement provided detailed dates for every franchise competition (namely publication of OJEU notice, ITT and contract award dates) in addition to the start date for each franchise as part of the Prior Information Notice.

Railways: Greater London

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on devolution of the remaining former Network South East rail services to Transport for London.

Simon Burns: The Government are currently in discussion with the Mayor of London and Transport for London regarding the Mayor's proposals to take over responsibility for the inner suburban parts of the Southeastern and Greater Anglia (West Anglia) franchises. A decision on whether to proceed with further devolution is expected later in the spring.

Railways: Standards

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of delayed passenger rail services in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: Any such costs are not identifiable from the financial information held by the Department. We do however regard as important good performance by the rail industry in terms of punctuality and reliability.

Shipping: Training

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effects on the workboat industry of the lack of an internationally recognised Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping certificate of competency for officers on workboats under 500 gross tonnage issued by the UK.

Stephen Hammond: Further to my answer of 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 576W, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has prepared an Impact Assessment which is currently progressing through the required regulatory procedures.

WALES

Domestic Visits

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 668W, on domestic visits, which constituencies in Wales he has not visited since taking up his post.

Stephen Crabb: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 15 April 2013, Official Report, columns 22-4WS.

Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what criteria are used in (a) his Department and (b) each public body for which he is responsible to determine which officials receive bonus payments.

Stephen Crabb: The key criterion for senior civil servants to be paid a bonus is that their performance must have exceeded agreed delivery objectives during the previous performance year. In the Wales Office, these objectives are set in order to deliver the Wales Office Business Plan.
	The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right. Our permanent staff are employees of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), with other staff members on loan from the Welsh Government or other Government Departments. MOJ staff below the senior civil service can be paid in-year and end-of-year non-consolidated performance related payments to award exceptional performance, as set out in the MOJ's performance management system and Reward and Recognition policy. The policy states that exceptional performance should further the aims and objectives of the Department or should meet an exceptional shorter term operational challenge.
	Those members of staff on loan to the Wales Office from the Welsh Government or other Government Departments are subject to the bonus policies and criteria of their home Department.

Recruitment

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on advertising job vacancies in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007, (d) 2008 and (e) 2009.

Stephen Crabb: In 2006, the Wales Office spent £3,950 on advertising job vacancies.
	The Wales Office spent nothing on advertising job vacancies in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many days of work were carried out by officials in his Department on average in each of the last five years; and what the total salary cost was of officials in each year.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right. Our permanent staff are employees of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), with other staff members on loan from the Welsh Government or other Government Departments.
	The Wales Office became a separate Government Department on 1 April 2011. Prior to this it was part of the MOJ, and formed part of the MOJ figures.
	The average total number of days that should be worked by each member of staff in the Wales Office is 225. This takes into account weekends, bank holidays and privilege days, and assumes 25 days of annual leave.
	We calculate the total number of days worked by Wales Office staff in 2011-12 as 14,490, and the total salary cost as £3,002,000.
	Data for 2012-13 are not yet available. Information on staff numbers and costs will be published in the 2012-13 Wales Office Annual Report. Copies of the report will be laid in the Library of the House when published.

SCOTLAND

Computers

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) desktop computers, (b) laptop computers and (c) tablet devices his Department has purchased in the last two years.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has not purchased any (a) desktop computers or (c) tablet devices in the last two years.
	The Scotland Office did not purchase any (b) laptop computers in 2011. In 2012, to assist with business continuity and to allow for more flexible working, the Scotland Office replaced 15 out-of-date desktop computers and one out-of-date laptop computer with 16 laptop computers.

Dementia

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department has a dementia strategy.

David Mundell: All Scotland Office staff are on secondment from other Government bodies, principally the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, who remain their employers. All staff in the Office are covered by their parent bodies' health strategies. Staff also have access to an independent health care provider.

Devolution

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the Government will give consideration to negotiating a stronger devolution settlement with the Scottish Government; and which (a) fiscal and (b) other economic powers the Government would consider devolving as part of such a settlement.

David Mundell: The Scotland Act 2012 delivers the greatest transfer of financial powers in 300 years from Westminster to Holyrood. The measures include the creation of a Scottish rate of income tax, devolution of stamp duty land tax and landfill tax and increased borrowing powers for the Scottish Government. The Scotland Act 2012 also created a power to devolve further tax raising powers to the Scottish Parliament in the future, if the criteria set out in the Command Paper No 7973 published alongside the Scotland Bill at introduction are met. Implementation of the Scotland Act 2012 will continue to 2016 when the new Scottish rate of income tax is introduced. The Government will report annually on the implementation of the Act.

Devolution

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland from which sources the Government are taking evidence to inform their view on the best (a) fiscal and (b) other economic options for Scotland; when he intends that this evidence will be placed in the public domain; and when he intends to publish the (i) fiscal and (ii) other economic parts of the Scotland Analysis series.

Michael Moore: The Scotland Office, HM Treasury and several other UK Government Departments are drawing on a variety of sources and consulting expert stakeholders as part of the Scotland analysis programme. Papers in the Scotland analysis series will be published throughout 2013 and 2014.

Government Procurement Card

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland with reference to the Freedom of Information request responded to by his Department on 23 January 2013 and published on 3 April 2013, on Government Procurement Cards, what the purpose was of the stay at the Holiday Inn, Milton Keynes in July 2011.

David Mundell: The purpose of the stay at the Holiday Inn Milton Keynes in July 2011 was for the special adviser to the Secretary of State to accompany the Secretary of State on official business at the British Grand Prix from early on Sunday 10 July.

Public Expenditure

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of (a) the criteria by which the future financial settlement and constitutional arrangements for Scotland should be determined and (b) the desirability or otherwise of replacing the funding arrangement determined by the Barnett Formula by a needs-based allocation of Government finances.

David Mundell: The Government are committed to devolving powers to the most appropriate level within a strong United Kingdom. The Scotland Act 2012 delivers the greatest transfer of financial powers from Westminster to Holyrood in 300 years. The Act delivers the recommendations of the Calman Commission which were based on evidence and consensus. Implementation of the Act will continue to 2016 when the new Scottish rate of income tax is introduced. The Government will report annually on the implementation of the Act.
	The Government's position on the Barnett Formula is clear: at this time the priority must be to reduce the deficit and any change to the current system of funding must await the stabilisation of the public finances.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many days of work were carried out by officials in his Department on average in each of the last five years; andwhat the total salary cost was of officials in each year.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff that join the Office do so on an assignment, secondment or loan agreement from other Government bodies but principally from the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice, Consequently, staff working in the Scotland Office have different terms and conditions, depending on their parent bodies. The information is not available in the form requested.
	Salary costs are published in the Annual Reports of the Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General, copies of which are held in the House Library.

Transport

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to improve transport links between Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.

David Mundell: Scotland Office Ministers are in close and regular contact with the Department for Transport regarding those transport routes for which the UK Government have responsibility.

Visits Abroad

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his Department's budget was for overseas travel for officials and Ministers in 2012-13.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not set a specific budget for overseas travel for officials and Ministers.

PRIME MINISTER

Short Money

Jim Shannon: To ask the Prime Minister if he will cease the provision of Short money to hon. Members and members of the House of Lords who refuse to take their seats.

Andrew Lansley: I have been asked to reply.
	“Short money” as provided for Opposition parties in the House of Commons under the terms of the resolution of the House first introduced in 1975, is not available to parties whose Members have not taken the Oath. “Representative money” as provided for under the terms of the House resolution of 8 February 2006 is provided. Such provision is a matter for the House itself to determine. The payment of allowances to Peers is a matter for the House of Lords.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Allowances

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance is given to senior officials in each of the arm's length bodies of his Department who have their home address as their main place of employment, on the use of travel and subsistence expenses for visiting offices of those bodies.

Richard Benyon: Guidance provided to senior staff who are home based by the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA), Environment Agency (EA), Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Natural England (NE) confirms that they are entitled to claim travel and subsistence expenses for visiting offices of their organisation and that evidence is required to support any expenditure incurred. Whether expenses paid to an individual who is home-based are taxable or not must be considered on a case by case basis depending on the duties performed.

Ivory

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his priorities for the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland are on tackling elephant poaching and the illegal sale of ivory.

Richard Benyon: The UK is committed to tackling the illegal trade in ivory and elephant poaching, most notably through wide-ranging action being taken under the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES). At a recent Conference of Parties to CITES, a package of measures was agreed to combat illegal ivory trade, including the development of national ivory action plans for countries that are significantly implicated in illegal trade and the establishment of an Ivory Enforcement Task Force. The UK strongly supports these initiatives and will continue to play an active role in strengthening the advice, assistance and tools provided to help elephant range states enforce CITES controls and combat illegal wildlife trade.
	In addition to the concerted action taking place through CITES, we continue to raise these matters through a variety of international forums.

Phenylbutazone

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the names and addresses of each of the owners of the 12 phenylbutazone contaminated horses believed to have entered the human food chain since 1 January 2012.

David Heath: The information requested has been withheld under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act as the information constitutes personal data relating to third parties which they would not expect to be made public.
	Disclosure of this information is also likely to breach the first data protection principle in schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act, which relates to the fair and lawful processing of personal data.
	Summaries of the outcomes of follow-up inspections into non-compliant results under the UK's statutory residues surveillance programme, operated under Council Directive 96/23/EC, are published in papers considered by the independent Veterinary Residues Committee (VRC). These can be seen at:
	http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/vrc/reports/surveillance.html
	These are available in the Library of the House, as mentioned in the answer I gave on 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 530W.
	These inspections revealed a number of different reasons for the presence of phenylbutazone in the carcases, including lack of awareness of the rules by some owners, not being able to trace ownership sufficiently far back to establish who may have administered phenylbutazone, and veterinary error in not signing the horse out of the food chain after administration. There have also been cases where the non-compliance has arisen through that horse having unintended access to feed containing phenylbutazone prescribed for another horse. Inspections have not revealed deliberate or sufficiently serious shortcomings to consider prosecutions. Those interviewed have been reminded of the rules that require horses treated with phenylbutazone to be signed out of the food chain.
	The chief veterinary officer and the Food Standards Agency CEO wrote a joint letter to the Veterinary Record reminding veterinarians of their responsibilities in this area, which can be viewed at:
	www.rcvs.org.uk/document-library/letter-from-defra-and-fsa-ref-horse-passports
	and has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Summaries of the results of follow-up inspections of non-compliant results from the Food Standards Agency's 100% testing programme, introduced from 30 January 2013, will also be considered by the VRC and published. Information from these inspections added to previous ones will provide more evidence on the most common reasons for these horses being presented for human consumption which can help target information campaigns to owners and their veterinarians.

Recruitment

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on advertising job vacancies in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007, (d) 2008 and (e) 2009.

Richard Benyon: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days of work were carried out by officials in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies on average in each of the last five years; and what the total salary cost was of officials in each year.

Richard Benyon: All civil and public servants employed by core DEFRA, its executive agencies and the majority of NDPBs (except those listed here) are expected, on average, to attend for 220.5 working days per year.
	Public servants employed by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew are expected, on average, to attend for 221.5 working days per year.
	Public servants employed by the Environment Agency are expected, on average, to attend for 222 working days per year.
	The total salary costs for core DEFRA, executive agencies and NDPBs are shown on page 113 of the annual report and accounts which can be viewed at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-2012--6
	The costs in the annual accounts will also include additional work carried out through overtime costs.

Timber: EU Law

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to make UK companies aware of the implementation of the EU Illegal Timber (Due Diligence) Regulation.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA officials have engaged closely with UK companies and trade organisations throughout the development of the EU timber regulation and its implementation in the UK, raising awareness through regular stakeholder meetings and consultation. The National Measurement Office is responsible for enforcing the EU timber regulation in the UK and a key part of its remit is to raise awareness in the industry. To date the National Measurement Office has:
	Set up a website and provided updates to the 2,700 individuals and companies that have signed up to its mailing list;
	Worked with journalists to ensure the right message is put out in key trade publications;
	Established and maintained regular contact with trade and business associations;
	Organised, attended and presented at sector-specific seminars;
	Attended trade shows and numerous meetings with individual companies and wider working groups;
	Answered phone and e-mail enquiries from hundreds of individuals, companies and organisations.
	Stakeholder engagement and awareness raising activities are a priority for the National Measurement Office over the next 12 months. It will be exploring all possible avenues for making UK industry aware of the EU timber regulation, and supporting UK companies in meeting their obligations.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Burma

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department provides to those affected by land confiscation in Burma.

Alan Duncan: DFID is working with civil society organisations to help establish procedures for access to legal aid over land disputes. DFID is also working through the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund with United Nations Habitat to pilot mapping technology, linked to the registration and digitisation of land ownership records, and to help formulate a prioritised land reform agenda including land tenure, development and administration.

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the proportion of people made homeless by Cyclone Nargis in Burma who have now been rehoused.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not hold recent data on this issue. The fourth and final report prepared by the Tripartite Core Group in July 2010 assessed the status of repairs to dwellings for households who continued to live in the same compound as before Cyclone Nargis. Of those households reviewed that were living in the same compound, 63% of shelters were fully repaired; 13% were almost fully repaired; 21% were partially repaired and 4% were not repaired.

Recruitment

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what amount her Department spent on advertising job vacancies in each year from 2005 to 2009.

Alan Duncan: In 2009 DFID upgraded the financial management system used to record all expenditure. Between 2005 and 2007 the financial management system did not record advertising expenditure as a specific item. The totals for 2008 and 2009 were £143,500 and £133,500.

Syria

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if her Department will take steps to address lack of access to medicines, vaccines and other aspects of health care in the south-western parts of Aleppo city in Syria.

Justine Greening: The UK continues to support the provision of medical services and supplies inside Syria, including contested and opposition-held areas, although due to the nature of the security situation we are unable to name our partners or the geographical area in which they work. Our funding has provided over 147,000 medical consultations. We will continue to monitor the need for greater access to medicines, vaccines and other health care supplies in Aleppo.

Syria

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent reports she has received on the provision of assistance to Lebanese families hosting Syrian refugees; and what steps her Department is taking to improve infrastructure in places in Lebanon where there is a high concentration of refugees to help them integrate into their host communities.

Justine Greening: The UK is providing £19,436,818 to Lebanon for support with the Syrian refugee response. UK-funded humanitarian partners are also delivering clean water, undertaking upgrades to sanitation infrastructure and providing schooling among Lebanese host communities. This support is benefiting thousands of Syrian refugees and Lebanese people alike. The UK has also funded British technical assistance to the Lebanese Government to support their work in responding to the humanitarian situation hosting Syrian and Palestinian refugees from Syria and Lebanese returnees.

TREASURY

Computers

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) desktop computers, (b) laptop computers and (c) tablet devices his Department has purchased in the last two years.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury receives its IT services under a contract signed in 2009. The contract is for five years duration and provides a fully managed shared ICT service, called off from the “Public Sector Flex” framework agreement.
	The managed service includes the provision and maintenance of desktop computers and laptop computers necessary for the Flex service. In addition the Department has purchased seven specialist desktop computers.
	Staff can be provided with a tablet device when there is an appropriate business need. The Department has purchased two tablet devices for departmental use.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 100W, on excise duties: alcoholic drinks, 
	(1)  if he will provide a breakdown of the types of alcohol duty repaid under the drawback duty regime in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011; and what estimate his Department has made of the level of drawback duty regime fraud in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010 and (iii) 2011;
	(2)  what methodology his Department uses to estimate the level of drawback duty regime fraud.

Sajid Javid: The drawback paid by alcohol tax type for the requested periods is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2008-09  
			 Beer 54.6 
			 Wine/cider 13.8 
			 Spirit 5 
			   
			 2009-10  
			 Beer 57.6 
			 Wine/cider 23.9 
			 Spirit 3.2 
			   
			 2010-11  
			 Beer 56.7 
			 Wine/cider 48.5 
			 Spirit 5.1 
			   
			 2011-12  
			 Beer 49 
			 Wine/cider 40 
			 Spirit 4.2 
		
	
	The most recent estimate of the level of drawback-related fraud available is 2009. In 2009 HMRC estimated the level to be approximately £25 million per annum. HMRC has a number of policies, and undertakes enforcement and compliance activity, to tackle drawback-related fraud.
	The methodology for estimating the level of drawback related fraud was published in HMRC's Impact Assessment on “withdrawing warehousing for export for claimants of drawback” dated 22 April 2009 published alongside the Budget that year. It is available at:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2009/110

Financial Services: Cyprus

William McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of any UK financial assistance to Cyprus.

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of any UK financial assistance to Cyprus.

Greg Clark: Cyprus has officially requested financial assistance from euro area member states through the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Cyprus reached agreement with the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank on the key elements of a €10 billion financial assistance programme on 25 March 2013.
	As part of that programme, the IMF has reached staff level agreement for a €1 billion Extended Fund Facility agreement with Cyprus. As a member of the IMF, the UK will be involved in any IMF contribution to the programme. The decision to provide IMF funding still has to be agreed by the IMF Board, on which the UK has a seat. The UK lends to the IMF as an institution and not to particular programmes; therefore it is not possible to provide an exact estimate of the UK's contribution to individual IMF programmes.
	The programme has yet to be formally approved by the euro area-only ESM. The UK is not a member of the ESM and therefore has no exposure to financial assistance provided by it, either directly or indirectly through the EU budget.

Gift Aid: Kilmarnock

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many charities registered in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency applied for Gift Aid in each of the last five years; and how much Gift Aid was received by such charities in each of those years.

Sajid Javid: HM Revenue and Customs does not separately identify Gift Aid claims by regions of the UK.
	Amounts of tax repaid to charities in the UK on donations under Gift Aid are published in Table 10.1 on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/charity.htm
	In 2011-12 a total of £1,076 million (provisional figure) was repaid to UK charities under Gift Aid.

Inheritance Tax

Pamela Nash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised from inheritance tax in (a) each Government office region, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last 30 financial years.

David Gauke: The number of estates paying inheritance tax left on death in 2009-10 by Government Office Region (GOR) is published in National Statistics Table 12.10, available from the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/inheritance/table12-10.pdf
	For the 2008-09 “year of death”, the numbers are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Area codes Region IHT (£ million) 
			 UKC North East (England) 43 
			 UKD North West (England) 141 
			 UKE Yorkshire and The Humber 105 
			 UKF East Midlands (England) 126 
			 UKG West Midlands (England) 123 
			 UKH East of England 210 
			 UKI London 501 
			 UKJ South East (England) 558 
			 UKK South West (England) 283 
			 UKL Wales 53 
			 UKM Scotland 231 
			 UKN Northern Ireland 42 
			  United Kingdom 2,416 
		
	
	This information is not available by region (GOR) for earlier years.
	Data for future years will be published to the publication schedule which is available from the HMRC website at
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/updates/annual-plan.pdf
	For Scotland, receipts of inheritance tax since 1998 are published in the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland publications and are available on the Scottish Government's website:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/GERS/Publications
	For Northern Ireland, the data are also published in its Net Fiscal Balance Report, available at :
	http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/northern-ireland-net-fiscal-balance-report-09-10-10-11.pdf
	This holds IHT receipts data going back to 2002/03 (table 4.3).
	Note that in both the Scottish and NI publications the year refers to the year of receipt rather than the year of death. This means that the data will not match that from table 12.10 in the National Statistics. For years prior to those appearing in these reports the published receipts, net of repayments are as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Receipts 
			  Scotland Northern Ireland 
			 1997-98 137 29 
			 1998-99 153 28 
			 1999-2000 158 30 
			 2000-01 149 37 
			 2001-02 169 28 
			 2002-03 142 31 
		
	
	
		
			 2003-04 155 26 
			 2004-05 164 28 
			 2005-06 198 33 
			 2006-07 224 29 
			 2007-08 265 51 
			 2008-09 173 43 
			 2009-10 144 32 
			 2010-11 159 39 
		
	
	Separate data for England and Wales and information for earlier years are not available.

Minimum Wage

John Woodcock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions were brought against companies in each sector of the economy for breaches of minimum wage legislation in each of the last three years.

David Gauke: There have been two prosecutions in the last three years. Further details are in the following table:
	
		
			 Date Employer Standard Industry Classification 
			 23 June 2010 Benjamin Gains (trading as BG Optical) Human Health and Social Work Activities 
			 26 February 2013 Kenneth Nnaemeka Ikerunanwa (trading as Widescope Security Services) Administrative and Support Service Activities

Mobile Phones

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which company holds the largest contract to provide mobile telephony services to his Department; how much was paid under the contract in the last year for which figures are available; how many individual services are covered by the contract; when the contract was awarded; when the contract will next be renewed; and for how long.

Sajid Javid: Vodafone Corporate Ltd provides mobile telephony services to HM Treasury. The spend in the financial year 2012-13 was £225,000 (excluding VAT). The contract covers mobile, 3G and Blackberry services. The contract was awarded in January 2009 and will expire in April 2015. Plans to replace the current contract will be finalised in 2014.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 April 2013, Official Report, column 1177W, whether there will be a maximum number of concurrent mortgages that can be covered by the proposed mortgage indemnity guarantee or mortgage subsidy schemes for individuals residing together in the same household at the time of application.

Sajid Javid: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 April 2013, Official Report, column 1177W.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Simon Hart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his Department will review the date at which cars become exempt from vehicle excise duty to ensure that classic cars are not lost as a result of falling outside the 40-year age requirement.

Sajid Javid: Budget 2013 announced that the Government will extend the cut-off date from which classic vehicles are exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED) by one year. From 1 April 2014 a vehicle manufactured before 1 January 1974 will be exempt from paying VED.
	The Government keep all taxes under review.

Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria are used in (a) his Department and (b) each public body for which he is responsible to determine which officials receive bonus payments.

Sajid Javid: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave her on 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 600W, which set out the criteria for bonus payments at HM Treasury and its agencies.

Revenue and Customs

John Woodcock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were in the HM Revenue and Customs national minimum wage team monitoring the north-west in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: The following table contains the number of staff based in the north-west at the end of March for each year requested:
	
		
			 Financial year Number of staff 
			 2008/09 16 
			 2009/10 14 
			 2010/11 14 
			 2011/12 14 
			 2012/13 15

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days of work were carried out by officials in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies on average in each of the last five years; and what the total salary cost was of officials in each year.

Sajid Javid: The number of days worked by officials in the HM Treasury and its agencies could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	Total salary costs for the Treasury Group are published annually in departmental annual report and accounts which are available on the following website,
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/dep_perf_reports_index.htm
	and for 2011-12 the salary figures appear in Chapter 9, Section 6, Table 6.1.
	Salary figures for the last five years are available as follows:
	
		
			 HMT Group permanent staff salary costs 
			  £000 
			 2011-12 100,742 
			 2010-11 80,032 
			 2009-10 91,392 
			 2008-09 79,501 
			 2007-08 83,554 
		
	
	The increase in total salary costs between 2010-11 to 2011-12 can largely be attributed to the Treasury Group expanding to include staff from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and Money Advice Service.
	Figures for 2012-13 will be published in due course.

Tax Allowances

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to provide support for families through the tax system.

Sajid Javid: This Government have increased the income tax personal allowance to £10,000, helping 25 million people, and by April 2014 will have taken a total of 2.7 million low-paid individuals out of tax altogether.
	The Government have cut fuel duty. It now costs £7 less for a typical motorist to fill their tank, and it will cost £10 less by the end of the Parliament. The Government have also made funding available to help local authorities in England freeze their council tax for a third year in a row.
	Additionally, at Budget 2013 the Government announced a new tax-free child care scheme to support working families. The new scheme will be phased in from autumn 2015, providing 20% of working families' child care costs, up to £1,200 per child each year. In the first year the scheme will be available to children under five, but will build up over time to include children under 12.

Taxation: Bingo

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on taxation of bingo.

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Taxation: Bingo

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent estimate he has made of the rate of gross profit tax levied on (a) bingo clubs and (b) bookmakers; and for what reasons the two rates are different;
	(2)  what recent consideration he has given to reducing the rate of bingo duty to 15%.

Sajid Javid: The rates of both general betting duty and bingo duty were set by the previous Government. Bingo duty is charged at 20% of gross profits and general betting duty is charged at 15% of gross profits. At Budget 2013 the Government left rates unchanged.
	All taxes, including general betting duty and bingo duty, are kept under review.

Telephone Services

Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 602W, on telephone services, whether a UK landline number beginning with 01, 02 or 03 is publicly available as an alternative to the 0845 number in use by his Department and the agencies for which he is responsible.

Sajid Javid: The answer of 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 602W, on telephone services, stated that, while HM Treasury used 020 as the advertised number, the UK Debt Management Office (DMO), an executive agency of HM Treasury, had 10 0845 contact numbers on its website. The DMO has recently updated its website to provide an 02 number for all 10 contact points within the agency for which telephone numbers are provided. For the six contact points listed on the “contact us” page of the website, non-geographic 0845 numbers continue to be provided alongside the geographic (02) alternatives, because of the key business continuity advantage of continuous access to 0845 numbers in the event of an interruption to geographic telephone numbers.

Tonnage Tax

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) its predecessor Departments worked on administration of the tonnage tax scheme in each year since 2000-01.

Sajid Javid: In 2012-13 we estimate that HMRC had 5.5 staff units employed on tonnage tax administration. We do not hold this information for earlier years.

Welfare Tax Credits

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people employed on zero hours contracts received an incorrect payment of tax credits in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Sajid Javid: HM Revenue and Customs does not collect information on the type of work contract an individual claiming tax credits is under. It is the actual average hours worked that are material to entitlement. This information is therefore unavailable.

DEFENCE

16 Air Assault Brigade

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of those trained parachutists currently serving within 16 Air Assault Brigade are classified as in-date.

Andrew Robathan: The most recent figures show that 88% of trained parachutists currently serving within 16 Air Assault Brigade are classified as in-date.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits the armed forces made to (a) state secondary schools, (b) independent schools and (c) colleges in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) England and (iv) Northern Ireland in 2011-12.

Mark Francois: This information is not held in the format requested. A breakdown of visits by geographical area is being compiled, but will take some time. I will write to the hon. Member once the information has been collated.
	Substantive answer from Mark Francois to Cathy Jamieson:
	Further to my response to your Parliamentary Question of 7 March (Official Report, column 1127W) I promised to write to you with further details to your question about the breakdown, by UK Country, of the number of Armed Forces visits to schools and colleges in 2011-12. It is not possible to break this down by type of teaching establishment, but the number of visits have been broken down by Service and UK Country is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Country Number of visits by the Royal Navy Number of visits by the Army Number of visits by the Royal Air Force 
			 Scotland 304 491 416 
			 Wales 146 476 91 
			 England 1,821 4,534 2,094 
			 Northern Ireland 188 153 110 
		
	
	These visits can comprise presentations, citizenship talks, meetings with staff, participation in career events, practice interviews and activities with the students. Activities with students can comprise science and maths challenges, and other indoor or outdoor exercises.
	The Armed Forces do not visit schools for recruitment purposes and would only ever visit a school after being invited by a teacher to support school activities. Similar contributions to schools are made by the Police, Fire, Ambulance and other emergency services. The Armed Forces get numerous requests from schools each year and the three Services take these opportunities to explain to children their role to protect the nation and pass on valuable skills such as leadership, teamwork and citizenship.

Armed Forces: Sexual Harassment

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to address the findings of assessments of experiences of equality and diversity conducted in 3 Division in 2012 with respect to sexual harassment; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The British Army is committed to being fair and free from harassment, with a culture that supports diversity, where commanders at every level lead by example, and where all personnel feel valued and able to realise their full potential.
	The Army is making tangible progress in delivering a more inclusive environment through a programme of initiatives that reflect best practice gleaned from the public and private sector. These include:
	Improved interactive, scenario-based training, delivered by professional experts from outside the Army who are prepared to challenge their attitudes and perception. The training was doubled in 2012, and the Army is doubling this training again this year.
	The introduction of a confidential Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination helpline in 2011, which enables our people to raise any concerns about their treatment directly with a dedicated team outside the chain of command.
	Increased use of mediation to tackle and resolve concerns as early as possible.
	The expansion of employee support networks.
	Improved leadership and engagement from commanding officers based on greater understanding and awareness of their soldiers' perceptions.
	This approach is kept under constant review and is informed by feedback from a wide range of sources, both internal and external, including representations from the chain of command.
	All commanding officers are also made fully aware of their responsibility to protect others from the differing forms of harassment, physical and mental intimidation and discrimination.
	All those who are found to fall short of the Army's high standards or who are found to have committed an offence under the Armed Forces Act are dealt with administratively (up to and including dismissal) or through the disciplinary process, as applicable.

Army: Snow and Ice

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the Army maintains preparedness for conflict in Arctic conditions.

Andrew Robathan: Arctic warfare is a Royal Marines capability which is supported by Army personnel.
	The Royal Marines continue to train in mountain and cold weather warfare annually in Norway in preparation for contingent operations as part of the Royal Navy's response force task group which can be called upon to react to an emerging threat anywhere in the world. In addition, every two years the Royal Navy and Royal Marines come together with their NATO counterparts to exercise in the coastal regions of Norway as part of a bigger multinational force in order to practise the procedures and protocols required for the UK to operate with their coalition partners. The skills and lessons learned in the extreme conditions offered in the mountains and fjords of Norway can be applied to any environment in which the Royal Navy and Royal Marines may have to operate in the future.

Burma

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the role of the new defence attaché to Burma includes responsibility for meeting non-state military forces in that country.

Andrew Murrison: UK officials in Rangoon meet regularly with both Government Ministers and representatives of a range of ethnic minority groups to discuss the peace process. The defence attaché may meet a similar range of interlocutors in the course of his duties.

Military Exercises

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assets are taking part in (a) Bersama Shield and (b) Exercise Real Thaw 13; how many personnel were deployed on each such operation; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of each operation.

Andrew Robathan: RAF assets involved in the Langkawi International Maritime Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition and the Five Power Defence Arrangements' Exercise Bersama Shield 13 (which ran from 8 April to 18 April) totalled four Typhoon aircraft and some 130 personnel. The estimated extra costs to the Defence budget of participation are about £2 million.
	There was no UK participation in the Portuguese-led Exercise Real Thaw 13.

Radioactive Materials

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to ensure that private contractors with whom it has partnership agreements adhere to the requirements of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.

Philip Dunne: All Ministry of Defence (MOD) contractors are required to comply with applicable legislation.
	Regulation of radioactive substances is in part a devolved issue.
	In Scotland, the application of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 (RSA93) depends on the activity and the nature of any partnership between the contractor and the MOD. Generally, RSA93 applies to civilian defence contractors in Scotland and activities are regulated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). Where the MOD is in control of the activities, SEPA nevertheless regulates as if the legislation applied, by administrative agreement with MOD.
	RSA93 has been superseded in England and Wales by the Environmental Permitting England and Wales Regulations 2010 (EPR10). These apply to defence contractors in England and Wales. Where those contractors are in control, the Environment Agency (EA) regulates activities in England, while Natural Resources Wales carries out the same function in Wales. Similar to the case in Scotland where the MOD is in control of activities, the statutory regulator is responsible as if the legislation applied, by administrative agreement with MOD.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 878W, on unmanned air vehicles, if he will place in the Library the results of the review undertaken on army unmanned aerial systems training.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 878W. The review referred to did not result in a formal report for the Army's review of unmanned aerial systems training. The outcome of the Army's review coincided with the publication of the Hermes 450 ZK515 Service Inquiry. The outcome of the service inquiry superseded the Army's review and work is under way to improve training in line with the recommendations. A copy of the service inquiry report can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/service-inquiry-investigating-the-accident-involving-unmanned-air-system-uas-hermes-450-zk515-on-02-oct-11

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Computers

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) desktop computers, (b) laptop computers and (c) tablet devices his Department has purchased in the last two years.

Jo Swinson: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, records held by the IT directorate within the Department are as follows:
	(a) The majority of our desktops are leased from our infrastructure provider, Fujitsu. However, we did purchase in 2012/13 five standalone desktop PCs for specialist use.
	(b) In the last two years we have purchased approximately 354 laptops. Majority of these were purchased to replace existing laptops.
	(c) In the last two years we have purchased approximately 44 tablets. The majority of these were purchased to run pilots to trial new ways of working and will be re-used within the Department. Others were purchased for specialist areas.
	All purchases were supported by robust business cases.

Credit

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average waiting time is for a consumer credit licence to be issued from the date of application to the date of issue.

Jo Swinson: The annual figures for 2010 to 2012 show a range between a mean average of 23 days in 2012 to a mean average of 29 in 2011.
	
		
			  Total cases (applications for a credit licence) Mean average processing time (working days) 
			 2010 7,641 25 
			 2011 7,409 29 
			 2012 6,977 23

Credit

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications for a consumer credit licence are currently awaiting a decision.

Jo Swinson: There were 782 open (no decision made) new consumer credit licence applications with the Office of Fair Trading at close of play on 15 April 2013.

Credit

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average waiting time was for applications for a consumer credit licence in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Jo Swinson: The following table gives details of the average processing time for applications for a consumer credit licence in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
	
		
			  Total cases (applications for a credit licence) Mean average processing time (working days) 
			 2010 7,641 25 
			 2011 7,409 29 
			 2012 6,977 23

Electric Motors: Industry

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department is providing for the electric motor industry; and how much support is available to small and medium-sized enterprises.

David Willetts: Government has made a £400 million commitment over the lifetime of this Parliament to make the UK a leading market for ultra-low carbon vehicles; which includes electric vehicles. This includes providing support for collaborative research and development (R&D), consumer incentives, support for charging infrastructure and demonstration projects. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) is a team working across Government with staff and funding from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Department for Transport and the Department of Energy and Climate Change and is leading this work to support the early market for ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV).
	BIS is also putting £9 million into the new Advanced Battery Centre at the High Value Manufacturing Catapult at Warwick.
	There is no support specifically aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in this area. However, they can benefit from Government support for the automotive industry generally. In particular, many of the interventions under the Technology Strategy Board's Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform are aimed at the supply chain which does include SMEs. SMEs will also benefit from our work with the automotive industry to develop a long-term industrial strategy which will be published later this year. OLEV will also be publishing an ultra-low emission vehicle strategy later this year.

Employee Ownership

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2013, Official Report, column 877W, on employee ownership, by what date he plans to publish an updated impact assessment on the new employee shareholder status.

Jo Swinson: It is our intention to publish an updated impact assessment before the employment status comes into law in September 2013.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Wheat

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost of the additional autumn sown trial of GM wheat at Rothamsted Research will be; and how this cost will be funded.

David Willetts: holding answer 17 April 2013
	The field trial of wheat with a genetic modification to repel aphids is being undertaken at Rothamsted Research under a grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). It is part of a wider programme of research aimed at making agriculture more sustainable, for example less reliant on insecticides and other inputs. Rothamsted has made an application to DEFRA for an additional autumn sown trial.
	The field trial is part of a five BBSRC-funded project with a total value of £732,000. BBSRC has separately provided funding to Rothamsted for additional security measures for the trial after threats to destroy the experiment last summer. Costs to date of this are currently over £180,000.
	Accurate figures for the autumn sown trial cannot be provided at this time as the application to DEFRA has not been approved and is subject to independent review and public consultation.

Graduates: Employment

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many graduates obtained a job within a year of leaving university in each year since 2000; and what proportion of the total number of graduates this represented for each such year.

David Willetts: holding answer 17 April 2013
	The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects data on the destinations of UK and EU domiciled graduates six months after qualifying through their Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey.
	In 2010/11, 224,045 full-time first degree qualifiers responded to the survey with a known destination from a target population of 284,980, which amounts to an overall return rate of 79%.
	Statistics on the number and proportion of full-time first degree graduates from UK Higher Education Institutions who were in employment six months after graduating from their course are provided in the table. This data does not include part-time students or those at other levels of study whose rates may be different. Other graduate destinations surveys existed prior to the DLHE survey, but it is not possible to provide employment rates from these on a consistent basis.
	Information for the 2011/12 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in June 2013.
	Other than obtaining a job, there are other positive outcomes six months after graduating Higher Education such as further study, internships/work experience or travel. The 2010/11 Higher Education Performance Indicators showed that 90.3% of full time first degree leavers were in employment or further study six months after graduating.
	Further information on employment indicators is available from the HESA Performance Indicators publication.
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2072/141/
	
		
			 Full-time first degree qualifiers by employment activity, UK Higher Education Institutions, six months after graduating academic years 2002/03 to 2010/11 
			 Academic year Employed(1) Total with known employment activity(2) Proportion employed (percentage of known) 
			 2002/03 128,940 182,320 70.7 
			 2003/04 134,175 187,840 71.4 
			 2004/05 134,825 188,775 71.4 
			 2005/06 135,255 188,330 71.8 
			 2006/07 137,905 190,385 72.4 
			 2007/08 139,310 200,070 69.6 
			 2008/09 137,725 205,340 67.1 
			 2009/10 149,445 213,390 70.0 
			 2010/11 158,440 224,045 70.7 
			 (1) Covers HE leavers employed in full-time, part-time and voluntary work including those in a combination of both work and study. (2) This excludes those who explicitly refused to answer as well as non respondents to the survey. Note: Numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest multiple of five, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Survey

Graduates: Unemployment

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of people who have studied (a) science-based and (b) non-science-based subjects at university were unemployed after (i) a year, (ii) two years and (iii) three years in the most recent period for which figures are available.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects data on the destinations of graduates six months after qualifying through the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey. This is then followed up three and a half years after graduation through the Longitudinal DLHE survey.
	HESA define science-based subjects with the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
	The proportions of UK domiciled full-time first degree graduates from UK higher education institutions not in work or further study by subject area of study for the latest years of data that are available have been provided in the following table.
	Information for the 2011/12 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in June 2013.
	
		
			 Destinations of UK domiciled(1) full-time first degree qualifiers by employment activity(2) and subject area of study(3): UK higher education institutions 
			 Percentage 
			  Not in employment or further study 
			  2010/11 qualifiers 2006/07 qualifiers 
			 Subject area of study 6 months after graduation 3.5 years after graduation(4) 
			 Science-based subjects (STEM) 12.2 5.4 
			 Non-science-based subjects (non-STEM) 14.6 7.2 
			 (1) Domicile refers to a student's permanent or home address prior to entry to their course (2) Statistics exclude those who explicitly refused to answer as well as non respondents to the survey. (3) Subject information is shown as Full Person Equivalents (FPEs) in the table. FPEs are derived by splitting student instances between the different subjects that make up their course aim. (4) Figures estimated using base figures from table 7 of the 2006/07 Longitudinal DLHE report. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Destinations of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE) survey

Higher Education

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people have (a) enrolled at and (b) graduated from universities in the UK in each year since 1997.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on student enrolments at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). Information on the number of enrolments and qualifiers at UK HEIs for the academic years 1997/98 to 2011/12 is provided in the tables.
	Information for the 2012/13 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2014.
	Prior to the academic year 1998/99 the HESA Standard Registered Population (SRP) is not available, therefore for the academic years 1997/98 to 1999/2000 the student population at 1 December has been provided as a comparison.
	Enrolments include students across all years of study and therefore most students will appear as an enrolment in more than one year.
	
		
			 Total enrolments(1) and qualifiers, UK higher education institutions, academic years 1997/98 to 2011/12 
			 Academic year Enrolments (SRP)(2) Enrolments (snapshot)(3) Qualifiers (SRP) 
			 1997/98 n/a 1,759,555 437,130 
			 1998/99 1,882,100 1,806,075 446,940 
			 1999/2000 1,907,055 1,816,365 460,260 
			 2000/01 1,948,135 n/a 504,410 
			 2001/02 2,042,585 n/a 521,500 
			 2002/03 2,131,110 n/a 557,790 
			 2003/04 2,200,180 n/a 595,640 
			 2004/05 2,236,270 n/a 633,045 
			 2005/06 2,281,240 n/a 640,850 
			 2006/07 2,304,705 n/a 651,060 
			 2007/08 2,306,105 n/a 676,460 
		
	
	
		
			 2008/09 2,396,055 n/a 674,415 
			 2009/10 2,493,420 n/a 716,940 
			 2010/11 2,501,295 n/a 762,540 
			 2011/12 2,496,645 n/a 787,205 
			 (1) Covers students in all years of study. (2 )Coverage for the HESA Standard Registration Population (SRP) is available at the following link: http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/view/1902/ (3) Student population at 1 December of the reporting academic year. Note: Figures have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record.

Higher Education: Finance

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what adjustments have been made and savings assumed in departmental expenditure for new regime UK-domiciled part-time undergraduate students entering higher education courses for the first time in 2012-13 at institutions which are not Higher Education Funding Council for England-fundable; and what assumption he has made of the number of part-time students who will be applying for fee loans;
	(2)  what adjustments have been made and what savings have been assumed in respect of Government expenditure for new regime UK-domiciled full-time undergraduate students entering higher education courses for the first time in 2012-13 at institutions which are not Higher Education Funding Council for England-fundable following the decline in participation in 2012-13; and on what number of full-time students those revised assumptions are based for (a) fee loans, (b) maintenance grants and (c) maintenance loans;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of Government expenditure on new regime UK-domiciled part-time undergraduate students entering higher education courses for the first time in 2012-13 at institutions which are not Higher Education Funding Council for England-fundable; and on what number of part-time students and at what average fee level those assumptions were based for fee loans;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of Government expenditure for new regime UK-domiciled full-time undergraduate students entering higher education courses for the first time in 2012-13 at institutions which are non-Higher Education Funding Council for England-fundable; and on what number of full-time students and at what average fee level those assumptions were based for (a) fee loans, (b) maintenance grants and (c) maintenance loans.

David Willetts: Student Loans Company (SLC) data on student finance for students at non-HEFCE fundable institutions, for academic year 2012/13, up to 31 March 2013, show the following expenditure, number of students and average support:
	
		
			  Spend (£ million) Number of students Average support (£ ) 
			 Full-time tuition fee loans 35 16,000 2,100 
			 Full-time maintenance loans 58 17,000 3,400 
			 Full-time grants 30 13,000 2,200 
			 Part-time tuition fee loans 1 500 1,300 
			 Part-time grants 0.1 200 500 
		
	
	These are not final figures for 2012/13 and are likely to change by the end of the year. The grants category includes both maintenance grants and targeted support such as the disabled students allowance.
	We are in the process of reviewing our medium-term forecasts for expenditure on student finance for students at non-HEFCE fundable institutions to reflect the 2012-13 data.

Higher Education: Finance

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the departmental expenditure was for new regime UK-domiciled full-time undergraduate students entering higher education courses for the first time in 2012-13 at institutions which are Higher Education Funding Council for England-fundable; and on what number of (a) full-time and (b) part-time students and at what average fee level assumptions were based for (i) fee loans, (ii) maintenance grants and (iii) maintenance loans.

David Willetts: Robust expenditure data for the 2012/13 academic year is not yet available and therefore we are not able to provide firm data on either the number of students supported or how the average levels of grant and loan compare to our assumptions. Provisional data on student numbers and average rates of support for the 2012/13 academic year can be found in the Student Loans Company's Statistical First Release of 29 November 2012.
	A summary of estimated expenditure for the 2012-13 financial year-based on actual spend to end February and estimates for March—is shown as follows. This covers English students at UK institutions, EU students at institutions in England and both HEFCE-fundable and non-HEFCE-fundable institutions.
	
		
			 Student finance expenditure by type of support for financial year 
			 2012-13 £ million 
			 Maintenance Loans, cash outlay to 2012-13 full-time entrants 830 
			 Fee Loans, cash outlay to 2012-13 full-time entrants 1,210 
		
	
	
		
			 Fee Loans, cash outlay to 2012-13 part-time entrants 30 
			 Maintenance Grants, expenditure on both new and continuing students 1,460

Higher Education: Part-time Education

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what adjustments have been made and what savings have been assumed in respect of Government expenditure for new regime UK-domiciled part-time students entering higher education courses for the first time in 2012-13 at institutions which are Higher Education Funding Council for England-fundable following the decline in participation in 2012-13; and on what number of part-time students those revised assumptions are based for fee loans.

David Willetts: Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency suggests that part-time entrant numbers at HEFCE-fundable providers have declined by 25% in 2012/13. We have updated our student finance forecasts to account for this and have assumed no change in entrant numbers in subsequent years. We are still monitoring the take-up rate of loans as the academic year continues. While it appears the take-up rate could be much lower than our assumption of 90% we have not yet revised our forecasts to account for that factor. The change in our forecasts caused by the decline in participation is as follows:
	
		
			 Cash outlay on fee loans to part-time students by financial year 
			 £ million 
			  2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Original forecasts 120 320 480 
			 Estimated outturn based on end February 2013 expenditure 30 — — 
			 Forecasts updated for decline in entrants but not take-up rate — 240 360

Higher Education: Part-time Education

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students started part-time undergraduate degree courses at each university in England in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 (i) in total and (ii) by university; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). A table showing the number of part-time entrants to undergraduate degree courses for individual HEIs in England in the academic years 2009/10 to 2011/12 has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	HESA figures for the 2012/13 academic year will be available from January 2014.

Lung Diseases: Research

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding (a) his Department and (b) the Medical Research Council allocated to research into (i) lung cancer, (ii) adult asthma, (iii) pneumonia, (iv) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (v) idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, (vi) mesothelioma and (vii) childhood wheezing and childhood respiratory infection in each of the last three years.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) through programmes under the Technology Strategy Board, has allocated funding to projects with spend in the years as specified as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 
			 Lung Cancer — 47,158 930,405 
			 Adult asthma — — 29,005 
			 Pneumonia — — — 
			 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — 100,405 732,720 
			 Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis — — — 
			 Mesothelioma — — — 
			 Childhood wheezing and respiratory infection — — — 
			 Total 0 147,563 1,692,129 
		
	
	The Medical Research Councils (MRC's) expenditure for respiratory disease and lung cancer can be found in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Respiratory Lung Cancer 
			 2009/10(1) 39.3 6.7 
			 2010/11(2) 32.5 n/a 
			 2011/12(2) 33.0 n/a 
			 (1) Actual expenditure. (2 )Forecasted expenditure. 
		
	
	When breaking out expenditure on cancer the MRC looks at research by site, therefore the information requested on mesothelioma is included in the data provided above for lung cancer. Adult asthma, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and childhood wheezing and childhood respiratory infection are all constituent parts of the respiratory portfolio and the MRC does not normally break this information down to this level. However, data is available on expenditure relating to pulmonary fibrosis as follows (note this excludes expenditure on research relating to cystic fibrosis):
	
		
			  Pulmonary fibrosis (£ million) 
			 2009/10(1) 2.1 
			 2010/11(2) n/a 
			 2011/12(2) n/a 
			 (1 )Actual expenditure. (2) Forecasted expenditure. 
		
	
	MRC-funded research on pulmonary fibrosis ranges from fundamental research on the mechanisms of pulmonary fibrosis to clinical studies to inform new treatments. The portfolio includes research on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and pulmonary fibrosis resulting from exposure to toxic substances or where it is secondary to another disease or condition. The majority of MRC's research in this area either relates directly to IPF or to fundamental mechanisms of pulmonary fibrosis which will inform IPF.
	I have provided the information that the MRC currently has available. The lung cancer portfolio is due to be updated later in the year. The portfolio for pulmonary fibrosis is not routinely identified from the wider respiratory portfolio, and is not due to be updated. Information for the 2012/13 financial year will not be available until the annual report and accounts have been published.

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to his Department's announcement of 26 March 2013 of £31 million of funding for new nuclear technology, whether the 36 funding awards from the £31 million for nuclear research, development and training will be subject to full cost recovery in cases where the funded project benefit companies involved in nuclear new build.

David Willetts: The 36 projects being supported are already part funded by business with at least £13 million of the £31 million being invested by the businesses involved. The Government funding has been awarded in order to stimulate innovation and growth for UK business in the nuclear sector and is awarded to businesses, universities and research and technology organisations to develop innovative technologies.
	It is hoped that these research and development (R&D) projects, which are still some way from market, will ultimately become commercialised after the end of the projects, hence creating new jobs, increasing business profitability and contributing to growth. Under these circumstances, Government grants for R&D are not usually subject to recovery.

Postgraduate Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received on concerns that postgraduate students are turning to high-interest rate loans and credit cards.

David Willetts: Postgraduate research and taught training is important both to individuals and to developing higher level skills for the economy. Ministers have received a range of representations about support and funding for postgraduate students, including mention of prospective postgraduate students considering (high-interest rate) loans and other means to fund their studies. Ministers are also aware that the National Union of Students has published two reports “Broke and Broken” and “Steps towards a fairer system of postgraduate taught funding in England” which have both highlighted that over 15% of the postgraduate taught students they surveyed (in 2010) had claimed to be funding at least part of their study through credit card and overdraft debt.
	The Government provides funding to support eligible individuals undertaking postgraduate qualifications. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) provides funding to higher education institutions (HEIs) in England to meet some of the costs incurred by HEIs of teaching students on taught postgraduate courses and of supervising students in the first three years of a postgraduate research degree programme. In 2012-13, HEFCE has maintained the allocation for taught postgraduate provision at £135 million, similar to levels for 2011-12. HEFCE has increased support for postgraduate research degree supervision to £240 million. In addition the Research Councils will invest £340 million in postgraduate research provision, which includes provision for stipends for postgraduate research students.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) also supports professional and career development loans (PCDLs) provided by Barclays and the Co-operative Bank. PCDLs are deferred-repayment bank loans of up to £10,000 for up to two years’ study, usually repaid over a period of one to five years. Postgraduate taught courses account for almost 90% of the 8,000 loans each year. In addition, BIS and the Northern Ireland Administration are providing support for up to 500 students to undertake specific aerospace related MSc programmes at UK universities for academic year 2013/14 through to 2015/16. £3 million funding from Government will be matched by industry.
	BIS continues to work with HEFCE who are gathering evidence on the role and nature of postgraduate provision, and the potential impact of higher education funding changes on graduate choices for postgraduate study.

Telephone Services

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, columns 515-7W, on telephone services, whether a UK landline number beginning with 01, 02 or 03 is publicly available as an alternative to the 0800, 0844, 0845 and 0870 numbers in use by his Department and the agencies for which he is responsible.

Jo Swinson: There are no alternative UK landline numbers to the 0800, 0844, 0845 and 0870 numbers in use by the Department.
	I have approached the chief executives of the Department’s agencies and they will respond to the hon. Member directly.
	Letter from David Parker, dated 16 April 2013
	Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills asking whether a UK landline number beginning with 01, 02 or 03 is publicly available as an alternative to the 0800, 0844, 0845 and 0870 numbers in use by his Department and the agencies for which he is responsible.
	The UK Space Agency does have a UK landline number beginning with 02 in use for the public however this is not an alternative to any 0800, 0808, 0844, 0845 and 0870 telephone numbers.
	Letter from Nick Jobling, dated 16 April 2013
	I am replying on behalf of the Chief Executive of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 10 April 2013, UIN 151629 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The public can access the Met Office Weather Desk with weather related enquiries, any time of the day or night, by telephone, fax, email, and social media. To contact the Weather Desk by telephone, the public can choose to call either 01392 885680 or 0870 900 0100.
	I hope this helps.
	Letter from Kim Thorneywork, dated 16 April 2013
	Thank you for your question in asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, columns 515-7W, on telephone services, whether a UK landline number beginning with 01, 02 or 03 is publicly available as an alternative to the 0800, 0844, 0845 and 0870 numbers in use by his Department and the agencies for which he is responsible.
	Please be advised that the non geographic telephone numbers in use by the Skills Funding Agency do not have an alternative UK landline number beginning with 01, 02 or 03.
	Letter from John Alty, dated 16 April 2013
	I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 10th April 2013, to the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	A new 0300 phone number replaced the 0845 number in June 2010. The 0845 number sits in the background and isn't advertised to customers. Around 10% of customers continue to contact us on this number. A standard 01 number is also available for customers to use.
	Letter from Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB, dated 17 April 2013
	As Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, I have been asked to respond to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, “whether a UK landline number beginning with 01, 02 or 03 is publicly available as an alternative to the 0800, 0844, 0845 and 0870 numbers in use by his Department and the agencies for which he is responsible”.
	Ordnance Survey does not generally offer alternatives to the 0845 numbers available to the public. The one exception is the textphone service used by deaf and hard-of-hearing customers, which uses an 02-prefix number.
	I hope this information is helpful.
	Letter from Tim Moss, dated 17 April 2013
	I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 10 April 2013, to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, (JIN 151629.
	Companies House's principal number, that of its Contact Centre, is a UK landline number, 0303 1234500. This can be used instead of the 0845 number it also uses for one of its services.
	Letter from Dr Richard Judge, dated 17 April 2013
	The Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, columns 515-7W, on telephone services, whether a UK landline number beginning with 01, 02 or 03 is publicly available as an alternative to the 0800, 0844, 0845 and 0870 numbers in use by his Department and the agencies for which he is responsible.
	In addition to the two 0845 numbers quoted in my earlier letter, The Insolvency Service makes the following numbers available on its website:
	1. A redundancy enquiry line on number 0330 331 0020;
	2. Numbers for individual official receiver's offices and our estate accounting function which give their telephone area code.
	Letter from Peter Mason, dated 16 April 2013
	I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (NMO) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 10 April 2013, asking the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) about publicly available UK landline numbers.
	NMO uses UK landline numbers beginning with 02. These are publicly available on the NMO website under the following contact web links:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/nmo/contact-us
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/nmo/contact-us/staff-contacts
	NMO does not use any UK landline numbers beginning with 01 or 03 (nor any 0800, 0844, 0845 and 0870 numbers).
	Letter from Malcolm Dawson, dated 17 April 2013
	I write on behalf of Land Registry in response to Parliamentary Question 151629 tabled on 10 April 2013 which asked the following:
	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, columns 515-7W, on telephone services, whether a UK landline number beginning with 01, 02 or 03 is publicly available as an alternative to the 0800, 0844, 0345 and 0870 numbers in use by his Department and the agencies for which he is responsible.
	I can confirm that we do not have any UK landline telephone numbers beginning with 01, 02, or 03 available as alternatives to the 0800 or 0844 numbers which are used by Land Registry.
	I hope you find this information useful.

Visits Abroad

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's budget was for overseas travel for officials and Ministers in 2012-13.

Jo Swinson: The Department does not have an individual budget for overseas travel as such costs form part of the overall travel budget allocations made to individual departmental business areas which cover both UK and overseas travel. However, our procurement records show that in the 2012-13 financial year a total of £2,872,973 was spent on overseas air fares, overseas rail fares and overseas hotels with the Department's corporate travel provider.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Freeview

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure that consumers do not lose Freeview TV reception as part of the roll-out of 4G.

Edward Vaizey: Government requires the winners of the 800 MHz spectrum licences to make sure that viewers who could suffer interference from 4G mobile services receive the help they need to enable them to continue watching TV. The mobile network operators are doing this through at800, a company they have set up with £180 million of their own funding.

Broadband

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the outcome of the 4G spectrum auction.

Edward Vaizey: I was delighted that the auction of 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum conducted by Ofcom in January and February delivered results that represent a significant achievement for the future of mobile communications in the UK.
	The mobile network operators' investment in networks and most of all from use of the spectrum will provide a significant economic boost to the UK.
	The operators will quickly start to roll out competitive high speed mobile broadband services across the country which will be a major contributor to the UK digital growth strategy.

Entertainments: Licensing

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 7 January 2013, Official Report, columns5-6WS, on entertainment licensing reform, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to bring into effect the Government's policy on deregulation of entertainment licensing.

Hugh Robertson: In the coming weeks, we will lay an Order before Parliament that will free up most performances of plays, exhibitions of dance and indoor sport from the unnecessary bureaucracy and cost imposed by the Licensing Act 2003. With the will of both Houses, we aim to bring this Order into force as quickly as possible, so that thousands of community organisations and charities across England and Wales can benefit from licence-free performances, starting this summer. Further measures, announced on 7 January, require changes to primary legislation and will be brought before Parliament later this year.

Television: Licensing

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pensioners claimed the over 75 free television licence (a) in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency, (b) in Lancashire and (c) nationally in the latest period for which figures are available.

Edward Vaizey: The BBC does not hold a breakdown of how many ‘Over 75 licences’ have been claimed for any area smaller than the UK. However, the total number of ‘Over 75 licences’ in force nationally as at the end of financial year 2011-12 was 3,908,306.

EDUCATION

Children: Day Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he will publish any responses to the More Great Childcare consultation which reject the premise of the questions posed.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government will publish full reports on all consultations resulting from the publication of More Great Childcare, in line with usual practice.

Education: Secure Accommodation

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to address low educational attainment for those in the secure youth estate.

Edward Timpson: To ensure that young people receive effective education while they are in custody, establishments should be conducting initial assessments of young people's literacy, numeracy and any particular learning needs. Such assessments should happen as soon as possible after the young person's arrival in custody and should take account of information from the organisations and professionals that have worked with the young person previously. The custodial provider should then develop a learning plan to ensure that, while the young person is in custody, he or she benefits from education and training designed to meet individual needs.
	On 14 February 2013 the Government launched a consultation on ‘Transforming Youth Custody: Putting Education at the Heart of Detention’. It describes the Government's plans for placing high quality education at the centre of youth custody.
	Plans to reform youth custody will see young people appropriately punished while at the same time learning to take responsibility for their actions and gaining the skills and qualifications they need to lead productive, law-abiding lives. The paper invites views and outline proposals from a wide range of stakeholders and providers describing how they would implement the Government’s vision for secure colleges. The consultation closes on 30 April 2013 and plans will be developed as a result, culminating in a Government response to the consultation responses it receives.

Email

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he or his special advisers currently use private email accounts for the purposes of conducting official Government business; and what steps he is taking to ensure that any such accounts can be searched in response to requests submitted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and his special advisers use equipment and systems provided by the Department and their own IT equipment as appropriate, depending on their location and circumstances. Where information is generated in the course of conducting Government business, it is stored on Departmental systems.

Email

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which Minister in his Department applied exemptions 36(2)(b)(ii) and (2)(c) to the request submitted by the hon. Member for West Bromwich East under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on private email accounts (reference 2013/0001056).

Elizabeth Truss: Information is exempt under section 36 (2) if, in the reasonable opinion of a qualified person, disclosure of the information would be likely to have the effects set out in the Act. In this case the qualified person was myself.

Email

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether (a) he or (b) his special advisers (i) sent or (ii) received emails relating to the Building Schools for the Future programme in Sandwell through non-departmental (A) email accounts or (B) social networking sites; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and his special advisers use equipment and systems provided by the Department and their own IT equipment as appropriate, depending on their location and circumstances. Where information is generated in the course of conducting Government business, it is stored on departmental systems. Neither the Secretary of State nor his special advisers use social networking sites for Government business.

Faith Schools

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools are designated as faith schools; and how many such schools are (i) Catholic, (ii) Protestant, (iii) Muslim, (iv) Jewish, (v) Hindu, (vi) Sikh and (vii) other faiths.

Elizabeth Truss: Data held by the Department records the religious character declared by the school.
	(a) As of 8 March 2013, there were 16,783 state-funded mainstream primary schools in England, of which 37% (6,194) were recorded as faith schools. Of these: 4,386 were recorded as Church of England; 1,662 were recorded as Roman Catholic; six were recorded as Muslim; 33 were recorded as Jewish; three were recorded as Hindu; three were recorded as Sikh; and 101 were recorded as other faiths (other Christian, mixed types, Quaker, and Methodist).
	(b) As of 8 March 2013, there were 3,281 state-funded mainstream secondary schools in England, of which 19% (628) were recorded as faith schools. Of these: 207 were recorded as Church of England; 323 were recorded as Roman Catholic; eight were recorded as Muslim; ten were recorded as Jewish; three were recorded as Hindu; one was recorded as Sikh; and 77 were recorded as other faiths (other Christian, mixed types, and Quaker).
	Source:
	Edubase
	http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/home.xhtml

GCE AS-level

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2013, Official Report, column 142W, on GCE: AS level, how many universities have made representations to him (a) in support of abolishing AS levels, (b) in support of separating AS levels from A levels and (c) against making such changes to the status of AS levels.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 25 March 2013
	Since the publication of the White Paper, ‘The Importance of Teaching’, in November 2010, discussions of our plans for A level reform, including the changes to the AS qualification, have taken place with a wide range individuals from universities and organisations, including the Russell Group and Universities UK. Ofqual also consulted on A level reform earlier in the year. It is for individuals and groups to decide whether to make their views public, including any responses to Ofqual's consultation on A levels.

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils who did not have a statement of special educational needs (a) nationally and (b) in each local authority achieved an A* to C grade in both English and mathematics GCSE but excluding equivalents in each year since 1997.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 26 March 2013
	The requested information, for the academic years 2007/08 to 2011/12, has been placed in the House Libraries. Information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministers: Codes of Practice

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what arrangements are in place to ensure that Ministers in his Department comply with clauses 1.2(b) and 1.2(d) of the Ministerial Code.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 26 March 2013
	All DFE Ministers comply with the Ministerial Code.

Pre-school Education: Special Educational Needs

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance he provides to local authorities on the employment of early years area special educational needs co-ordinators.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department last issued guidance to local authorities on the employment of early years area Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs) in 2002.
	We are in the process of revising the statutory Special Educational Needs (SEN) “Code of Practice” for the first time since 2001, to reflect the reforms set out in the Children and Families Bill. We will take this opportunity to review whether, and if so how, good practice on the area SENCO role can be reflected in the “Code of Practice” as part of the overall approach to providing for children with special educational needs.

Pupil Exclusions: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children between the ages of four and 11 years were (a) suspended and (b) suspended more than once from school in (i) Brigg and Goole constituency and (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber in the latest period for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer Tuesday 16 March 2013
	Information on the number of pupil enrolments aged between four and 11 receiving one or more, or two or more fixed period exclusions in Brigg and Goole constituency and Yorkshire and the Humber in 2010/11 is shown in the table.
	The latest published information on permanent and fixed period exclusions is available in the “Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2010/11” Statistical First Release at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/a00211337/
	
		
			 State-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools(1,2,3,4): Number of pupil enrolments aged between four and 11 receiving one or more fixed period exclusions(5,6), Yorkshire and the Humber region and Brigg and Goole constituency, 2010/11 
			  Number of pupil enrolments receiving one or more fixed period exclusions 
			  State-funded primary schools(1,2) State-funded secondary schools(1,3) Special schools(4) Total(1,2,3,4) 
			  Number Percentage of school population(7) Number Percentage of school population(7) Number Percentage of school population(7) Number Percentage of school population(7) 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber region 1,910 0.48 1,710 2.96 80 2.65 3,690 0.81 
		
	
	
		
			 Brigg and Goole constituency 13 0.21 25 2.52 0 0.00 38 0.53 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of pupil enrolments receiving two or more fixed period exclusions 
			  State-funded primary schools(1,2) State-funded secondary schools(1,3) Special schools(4) Total(1,2,3,4) 
			  Number Percentage of school population(7) Number Percentage of school population(7) Number Percentage of school population(7) Number Percentage of school population(7) 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber region 720 0.18 700 1.22 50 1.57 1,470 0.32 
			 Brigg and Goole constituency 5 0.08 9 0.15 0 0.00 14 0.20 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3 )Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies (including all-through academies). (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) Pupils may be counted more than once if they moved schools during the year, or are registered at more than one school. (6) Age as at 31 August 2010. (7 )The number of pupil enrolments expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils aged between four and 11 (excluding dually registered pupils) as at January 2011. Note: Regional totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not appear to equal the sum of constituent parts. Source: School Census.

Pupils: Travellers

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many school attendance orders were served on the parents of Traveller and Gypsy children in each local education authority area in each of the last five years.

David Laws: Local authorities are required to serve school attendance orders where a parent cannot demonstrate that their child of compulsory school age is receiving suitable education and in the opinion of the local authority it is expedient that the child should attend a school. The Department does not collect information on how many school attendance orders are issued by local authorities.

Residence Orders

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (a) how many residence orders have been made to a non-parent in relation to a child and (b) how many such children were previously in the care system in (i) 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 and (ii) each of the last 10 years in (A) England and Wales and (B) each region.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 26 March 2013
	The current family court data collection system has a facility to collect data on the applicant and the respondent's relationship to the child in residence cases, but the system does not record information on who is named in the resulting court order. It is therefore not possible to tell how many residence orders in relation to children have been made which name a non-parent.
	In England, a total of 7,290 children have ceased to be looked after between 2006 and 2012 due to the granting of a residence order. The following table gives the regional breakdown of looked after children who have ceased to be looked after due to the granting of a residence order for these years. This information covers England only; information relating to Wales can be found on the Welsh Government website.
	However, it is not possible to identify how many of these children were subject to a residence order which names a non-parent.
	
		
			 Children who ceased to be looked after during the years ending 31 March due to the granting of a residence order(1,2,3,4); years ending 31 March 2006 to 2012, coverage: England 
			  Number of children who ceased to be looked after due to the granting of a residence order 
			  2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 England 930 1030 910 930 1010 1190 1290 
			         
			 North East 90 70 80 70 80 120 120 
			 North West 120 200 170 160 200 240 230 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 110 120 100 100 140 140 170 
			 East Midlands 40 80 70 70 50 100 90 
			 West Midlands 120 140 120 120 140 170 150 
			 East of England 80 50 80 90 80 100 110 
			 London 200 160 120 100 130 120 180 
			 South East 80 130 100 140 100 110 120 
			 South West 100 70 70 80 90 100 110 
			 (1) Only the last occasion on which a child ceased to be looked after in the year has been counted. (2) Figures exclude children who were looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (3) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. (4) Information on residence orders was collected for the first time in 2006. Source: SSDA903

Schools: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the total estimate provided by local authorities is for the backlog of school repairs from Priority 1 to 4; and if he will place a list of local authorities along with the repair backlog for each local authority in the Library.

David Laws: At this time it is not possible to provide an estimate of the backlog of school repairs ranging from Priority 1 to 4.
	The Department has not collected any data on school condition since 2005. The Department is now in the process of collecting data on school condition by means of actual property data surveys. When these surveys have been completed the information collected, along with the validated local authority data, will be used to provide an estimate of the outstanding costs of school repairs.
	It is expected this process will be completed by the end of October 2013.
	The results of the school surveys and the validated local authority information will be made available through an appropriate dissemination process currently being finalised by the Education Funding Agency.

Secondment

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2013, Official Report, column 754W, on secondment, what the lengths are of the secondments of those civil servants to organisations which sponsor academies;
	(2)  what the names are of the organisations to which the civil servants have been seconded.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has four members of staff on secondment to organisations which sponsor academies: two at United Learning Trust, one at REach2 and one at The David Ross Educational Trust. All four members of staff are on secondment for a period of two years. In each case their salaries are reimbursed to the Department.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Women’s Business Council

Nick de Bois: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the work of the Women’s Business Council; and when the Council intends to publish its recommendations.

Jo Swinson: The Women’s Business Council, chaired by Ruby McGregor Smith, has made excellent progress since being set up in May 2012.
	It has been exploring how we can maximise women’s contribution to our economy and I look forward to their report and recommendations this summer.

Equality Impact Assessments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what discussions she had with ministerial colleagues prior to Budget 2013 on equality impact assessments; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Miller: As the Prime Minister has made clear, Government Departments do not need to do equality impact assessments. Equality is far more than simply a tick box exercise. All Departments, including the Treasury, consider equality during policy making as a matter of course. For example, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury hosted a roundtable in March with a range of equality stakeholders ahead of the spending review in June.

Working Mothers

Karl Turner: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to support working mothers.

Jo Swinson: Working mothers make a huge contribution to the economy and the Government continues to support them in a number of ways.
	We have already put in place a number of measures to help with the cost of child care and announced further support to be introduced in 2015.
	In addition we have extended support for child care costs to those who work less than 16 hours a week; increased Government-funded early education places for three and 4-year-olds to 15 hours a week; and extended this so that 260,000 two-year-olds from lower income families can also access a place from September 2014.
	Our radical reforms to parental leave will allow working mothers and working fathers to choose how best to share caring responsibilities, allowing them to balance their work and caring responsibilities and progress their careers.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Telephone Services

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 380W, on telephone services, whether a UK landline number beginning with 01, 02 or 03 is publicly available as an alternative to the 0800 and 0845 number in use by his Department and the agencies for which he is responsible.

Gregory Barker: The Departments HQ in Westminster does provide an 02 and an 03 number for public inquiries.
	DECC has four agencies:
	Committee on Climate Change—which provides an 02 number.
	Nuclear Decommissioning Authority—which provides an 01 number.
	Coal Authority—which provides an 01 number.
	Civil Nuclear Police Authority—which also provides an 01 number.

Visits Abroad

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his Department's budget was for overseas travel for officials and Ministers in 2012-13.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change's expenditure on overseas travel in 2012-13 is £490,000.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bill of Rights

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment she has made of progress on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

Michael Penning: It remains clear that there is currently no consensus among the political parties in Northern Ireland around a Bill of Rights, despite substantial efforts to resolve the issue.
	I remain happy to discuss the issue with the political parties if they wish to do so.

Devolution

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  if the Government will give consideration to negotiating a stronger devolution settlement with the Northern Ireland Executive; and which (a) fiscal and (b) other economic powers the Government would consider devolving as part of such a settlement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of (a) the criteria by which the future financial settlement and constitutional arrangements for Northern Ireland should be determined and (b) the desirability or otherwise of replacing the funding arrangements determined by the Barnett formula by a needs-based allocation of government finances.

Michael Penning: The Government is committed to devolving powers to the most appropriate level within a strong United Kingdom.
	The Northern Ireland Act 1998 makes provision for reserved matters to be transferred, providing that there is cross-community support in the Assembly for doing so. The Government has also conducted a recent public consultation on adjustments to institutions in Northern Ireland and will bring forward a number of measures in this area when legislative time allows.
	In the context of wider discussions on rebalancing the economy and building a shared society in Northern Ireland, we will examine the potential for the further devolution of fiscal and economic powers in consultation with the Northern Ireland Executive. We have also committed to taking a decision on the potential devolution of corporation tax powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly no later than the autumn statement 2014.
	The Northern Ireland Office has made no assessment of the desirability of replacing the funding arrangements determined by the Barnett formula.

Recruitment

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much her Department spent on advertising job vacancies in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007, (d) 2008 and (e) 2009.

Michael Penning: Following the devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010, and the reconfiguration of the Northern Ireland Office, my Department does not hold complete figures for these periods. Attempting to obtain them would incur disproportionate cost. In addition, figures from before 12 April 2010 would not be comparable with any subsequent to that date.

Security

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many booby-trap bombs were discovered under cars in Northern Ireland in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2011-12.

Theresa Villiers: The information requested by the hon. Member is held by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The hon. Member may wish to write to the Chief Constable about his query.

Staff

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many days of work were carried out by officials in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies on average in each of the last five years; and what the total salary cost was of officials in each year.

Michael Penning: The NIO does not hold information on the number of days of work carried out by officials in the Department or its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).
	The salary costs for my Department were disclosed in the annual report and accounts for each of the last five years, copies of which are available in the Library of the House. The 2012-13 accounts are not yet complete, but will be published in due course. The annual report and accounts also contains summary information on staff numbers.
	As an advisory NDPB, the costs related to the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland are included in those of my Department. Since devolution of policing and justice in April 2010, the number of executive NDPBs has been reduced to two—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. As such bodies are independent of Government, my hon. Friend may wish to write to the commissions direct on these matters—contact details are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 ALB Status Contact details 
			 Parades Commission for Northern Ireland Executive NDPB info@paradescommission.org 
			 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Executive NDPB information@nihrc.org

Visits Abroad

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what details of (a) itineraries, (b) costs and (c) other aspects of overseas visits in support of trade and investment by Ministers in her Department are published (i) routinely and (ii) on request.

Theresa Villiers: Details of overseas visits by Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office are published on a quarterly basis. This includes date, destination, purpose and cost of each overseas visit. These details can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Fire Services

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his plans are for the future of fire and rescue services in England; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 17 April 2013
	As I announced on 14 December 2012, Sir Ken Knight is undertaking a review into the operational efficiency of the services delivered by fire and rescue authorities in England. The review will seek to identify ways fire and rescue authorities can pinpoint sensible savings and improvements without reducing the quality life-saving services that the country's fire firefighters are known for. I look forward to Sir Ken Knight's forthcoming report; after considering his findings, and hearing views from the sector, the Government will publish a formal response.

Fire Services: Private Sector

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the future involvement of for-profit private sector companies in service delivery of fire services.

Brandon Lewis: It remains the responsibility of individual fire and rescue authorities to deliver in the way that best meets the needs of their communities.
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 5 March 2013, Official Report, column 931W, on the outsourcing provisions introduced by the last Administration.

Government Procurement Card

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2013, Official Report, column 75W, on Government Procurement Card, which authorised Government Procurement Card transactions from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2004-05 were made by an authorised cardholder who was then based in the private office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Brandon Lewis: A copy of all Government Procurement Card transactions made by the Ministerial Group as a whole from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the period in 2004-05 has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Housing: Construction

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether his definition of new build includes converted barns and offices; [R]
	(2)  whether his definition of new build includes properties built in the last five years and never occupied. [R]

Mark Prisk: In relation to my Department's schemes to support home ownership, I can confirm that developers who have registered with the Homes and Communities Agency will be eligible to use the Help to Buy scheme for those new build homes which have been completed in the last five years and have not been occupied. This would include barns and offices which have been converted for first residential use.
	In relation to the New Homes Bonus, a hereditament that was converted from business use into a residential dwelling would count as a new property for the purposes of the bonus. The New Homes Bonus also recognises long-term empty dwellings being brought back into residential use and occupation.
	On the basis of his previous questions, the hon. Member may be asking about Community Infrastructure Levy. On 15 April, my Department published a consultation paper which outlines plans to exempt self-build from the levy. It also proposes removing the current vacancy test meaning the levy will not generally be payable on buildings that have been vacant for a certain amount of time but are being refurbished or redeveloped to bring them back into productive use; the levy would still be payable on abandoned buildings or vacant buildings being redeveloped with an increase in floorspace. A copy of the document is in the Library of the House.

Local Government

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will give consideration to promoting a new localism settlement to give councils and local authorities greater financial powers and responsibility.

Don Foster: The Government continues to devolve powers and responsibilities to local authorities. They must also exploit the considerable opportunities available to them. The Localism Act 2011 allows local communities to decide how best to meet their needs while the General Power of Competence gives local authorities power to do anything an individual might. The Local Government Finance Act 2012 provides a direct financial incentive for local authorities to drive economic growth in their area. I look to local authorities to exercise these powers, act independently and be bold to support their areas.

Right to Buy Scheme

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on marketing and advertising right-to-buy discounts in each region of England in each year since 2010-11.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 15 April 2013
	I refer the hon. Member to my answers of 30 January 2013, Official Report, columns 854-5W, on the local and national spending. The advertising has not been based around the defunct Government office regions.

Social Rented Housing: Empty Property

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many public-sector homes in (a) England and (b) each Government office region in England were empty in each month in 2012-13.

Mark Prisk: As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, columns 32-33WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region.
	Statistics on vacant dwellings in England and in each local authority district are published in the Department's live table 615 which is available at the following link. This table shows the annual number of empty homes in the local authority, housing association and other public sector tenures:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
	This table brings together figures on vacant dwellings in England drawn from several separately published sources. Monthly figures are not collected centrally.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 11 December 2012, Official Report, House of Lords, column 218-19WA, on our comprehensive package of policies to get empty homes back into use.

Social Rented Housing: EU Nationals

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons an EEA national exercising their right to freedom of movement as a self-sufficient person may (a) need and (b) be entitled to social housing.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 17 April 2013
	There is no entitlement to social housing.
	European economic area nationals who have a right to reside in the UK on the basis that they are self-sufficient are eligible for social housing if they are habitually resident in the common travel area (the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland). To be considered self-sufficient, a person must have (i) sufficient resources not to become a burden on the social assistance system of the UK and (ii) comprehensive sickness insurance cover in the UK.
	To be allocated social housing an eligible applicant must also meet the local authority's own qualification criteria and have sufficient priority under the local authority's allocation scheme.
	An allocation scheme must be framed to ensure that certain categories of people are given ‘reasonable preference’ for social housing, because they have an identified housing need, including people who are homeless, overcrowded households, and people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds.
	The Government wants to tackle the widespread perception that the way social housing is allocated is unfair and favours foreign migrants over local people and the armed forces.

Social Rented Housing: Overcrowding

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people are living in housing association or local authority housing classified as overcrowded in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 12 February 2013, Official Report, columns 612-3W.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Apprentices

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made a recent assessment of the value for money of the apprenticeship clauses in his Department's standard contract introduced in 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: In order to improve the number of apprenticeships and wider skills opportunities created through procurement, the Department for Work and Pensions introduced a contract schedule to its terms and conditions from April 2010 for all new contracts.
	Although now firmly embedded into the model for all new contracts, no formal assessment has taken place to evaluate the impact of this requirement. Consideration is currently being given to the use and potential cost of a pan-government single supplier registration and data gathering tool, which would support the monitoring and evaluation of this schedule.

Children: Maintenance

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions the Child Support Agency made use of its powers under Regulation 4(2)(i) of the Child Support Information Regulations 2008 to request information regarding a non-resident parent's address from his or her bank or building society in the last year.

Steve Webb: The Child Support Agency (the Agency) can approach banks and building societies to request any information needed to enable:
	(a) a non-resident parent to be identified or traced (where that is necessary);
	(b) the amount of child support maintenance payable by the non-resident parent to be calculated; or
	(c) the amount to be recovered from the non-resident parent.
	One area where these provisions are used is where the agency considers imposing a deduction order.
	Deduction orders are where the agency instructs deposit holders to deduct maintenance directly from a non resident parent's bank/building society account, following non payment of maintenance. Disclosure requests are sent to banks and building societies to obtain financial information and contact details, including the most recent address.
	The following table shows the number of disclosure requests made in the last three years.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of cases where disclosure requests sent 
			 April 2009 to March 2010 1,795 
			 April 2010 to March 2011 4,355 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 3,980 
		
	
	There may be other scenarios where an address is requested from a bank or building society, for example, during criminal investigations. However, these numbers are not recorded for management purposes.

Children: Maintenance

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in how many live Child Support Agency (CSA) cases no action can currently be taken to (a) process an application and put a payment schedule into operation, (b) collect a maintenance liability and (c) take enforcement action because the CSA does not hold a confident address for the non-resident parent.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available as we do not routinely record this information for management purposes. In order to source this information it would involve checking each individual case, which would exceed the appropriate cost limit to provide. However, the following information may provide some context:
	(a) Where a valid application is made and the Child Support Agency (the agency) is able to trace details for a non-resident parent, a payment schedule would always be put in place. If a confident address could not be traced for the non-resident parent, we would continue to pursue information such as referrals to HM Revenue and Customs, credit reference agencies and contact with the parent with care.
	(b) There are a number of scenarios where the agency is unable to collect a maintenance liability or arrears. These include cases where the parent is untraceable, the parent is abroad, or the debt has been suspended.
	(c) Where a case is managed by our legal enforcement teams and they are unable to trace a non-resident parent's address the case is moved into “case surveillance”. This involves using credit reference agencies to monitor changes in a non-resident parent's address or financial circumstances. If any changes occur, a report is provided to support further negotiation or action.
	As of December 2012 there were 52,000 cases subject to case surveillance.

Children: Maintenance

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Child Support Agency has spent on tracing the whereabouts of non-resident parents in each of the last four years.

Steve Webb: Information on the costs of tracing non-resident parents and the internal costs of using external data sources is not available, as we do not record this level of detail. Additionally, “trace” is a task that is applicable to both the parent with care and non-resident parent.
	The information provided in the following table shows the direct trace costs for using external data sources (notably HM Revenue and Customs) in each of the last four years.
	
		
			  Direct trace costs (£ million) 
			 2009-10 2.08 
			 2010-11 1.86 
			 2011-12 1.19 
			 2012-13 1.02

Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989 on the number of (a) fatalities and (b) injuries in workplaces.

Mark Hoban: The Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989 (CHPR) are believed to have had a significant initial impact on serious and fatal head injuries on construction sites. Since that time, the wearing of head protection has become largely culturally embedded in the industry and other regulations continue to provide for an equivalent level of protection to be maintained.

Courts: Fines

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the relationship between court-imposed fines and (a) reliance on payday loans, (b) homelessness and (c) child poverty.

Helen Grant: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does not have any way of identifying offenders who fall into the groups mentioned.
	HMCTS takes the issue of fine enforcement very seriously and as part of the future strategy, HMCTS will be considering numerous ways in which performance can be improved, which could include offender profiling.
	The information HMCTS holds on offenders is provided by the prosecuting authorities, the offenders themselves and by using the tracing tools HMCTS has at its disposal such as the Experian credit reference agency and the Department for Work and Pensions customer information system. The means form, which defendants are asked to complete, requests details of income and outgoings, including loan amounts they are repaying and how many dependant children they have, but as many defendants do not provide financial means information to the court, HMCTS does not know what other financial commitments they have.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration his Department took of the household adaptation requirements of disabled people in developing its plans for the under-occupancy penalty.

Steve Webb: We have recognised that there will be certain circumstances where it makes no sense to move someone from a property which has already been adapted into a different one and spend more on adaptations. This is why the Discretionary Housing Payment Scheme has been increased by £25 million from 2013-14, specifically aimed at supporting those living in significantly adapted properties.
	We considered the arguments for exempting certain categories of claimants but do not believe that a blanket exemption appropriate. Such an exemption would not take account of the extent or costs of any adaptations and we believe DHPs offer a more flexible and cost-effective approach.

Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria are used in (a) his Department and (b) each public body for which he is responsible to determine which officials receive bonus payments.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is as follows:
	Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
	The DWP operates two pay-related employee reward schemes. They comprise end of year non-consolidated payments and in-year non-consolidated payments. The Department uses these payments to motivate and engage employees and ensure added value to business performance.
	End of year non-consolidated payments
	End of year non-consolidated payments paid to employees from administrative grades to Grade 6 during 2012-13, were made to those receiving a ‘consistently good’ or ‘wholly exceptional’ end of year performance marking.
	In the senior civil service the top 25% of senior civil servants (SCS) receive an award, based on the achievement of agreed objectives and how those objectives were achieved, in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance, which is available on:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/recruitment/working/pay-and-reward/scs-pay
	End of year non-consolidated payments paid in one financial year are based on performance in the previous performance year, e.g. payments made in 2012-13 relate to performance in the 12-month period from April 2011 to March 2012.
	In-year non-consolidated payments
	DWP employees up to Grade 6 are eligible to be nominated for an in-year performance award. These are one-off payments, made to recognise exceptional achievements and/or contributions to business performance. In-year awards can be made at any time during the performance year and are paid either as retail vouchers between £25 and £50 or cash payments above £50. SCS are not eligible to receive these payments.
	The criteria used in DWP's public bodies for officials to receive bonuses are as follows:
	Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
	SCS performance in HSE is assessed against the civil service wide guidance on performance management issued by Cabinet Office (see link above).
	The performance of staff below SCS is assessed annually against agreed work objectives. Top performing staff receive an additional non-consolidated and non-pensionable bonus.
	Since HSE's two-year pay freeze was introduced from 1 October 2011, no bonus payments have been made to staff below SCS other than for a small group of staff with reserved rights from their previous Government Department.
	Independent Living Fund
	For Grade 7 and above, the chief executive officer makes recommendations to the Trustees Remuneration Committee on any bonus payments to be received. Payment will be dependent of performance and achievements throughout the year up to a maximum of 5% of salary.
	For grades SEO and below, an organisational discretionary bonus scheme is available. The bonus is based on organisational performance during a financial year, i.e. April to March, To be eligible, employees must meet relevant performance criteria.
	National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) Corporation
	NEST Corporation operates a robust performance management framework, including competencies which capture the skills and behaviours rewarded as well as measuring achievement against objectives.
	A higher percentage award will be made to those with an ‘Outstanding’ end of year rating, than to those ‘Exceeding Expectations’.
	Awards are pro-rated by the number of months employed in the reporting year.
	Pensions Ombudsman/Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman
	The Office of the Pensions Ombudsman pays annual non-consolidated performance bonuses which are awarded according to a performance ranking given at the year ending 31 March. Performance rankings range from ‘6’ being equivalent to outstanding and ‘1’ being equivalent to unsatisfactory. To receive an individual non-consolidated performance bonus staff had to achieve a ranking of ‘4’ or above.
	Pension Protection Fund (PPF)
	All Pension Protection Fund employees are eligible to be considered for an annual bonus, determined by individual achievement in the previous financial year. Each staff member is assessed against strict criteria set out in their balanced score card for objectives, and in their individual development plans for progress in competency levels.
	The Pensions Advisory Service
	The Pensions Advisory Service makes performance awards based on the outcome of the annual reviews for the period ending 31 August. The structure of the award is that the team needs to exceed its objectives, and the team member needs to have at least met their personal objectives and contributed to the team exceeding its objectives for the period.
	The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
	TPR operates an annual discretionary non-consolidated bonus scheme which is designed to reward performance over and above the requirements of the job. Bonuses are a reward for past performance.
	Bonus awards fall into two categories: strong and exceptional. A strong performance is considered to significantly exceed expectations for this or similar roles, as detailed in the relevant role description, relevant competencies and achievement of objectives.
	An exceptional performance is considered to be exceptional relative to expectations for this or similar roles, as detailed in the role description, relevant competencies and achievement of objectives.
	Remploy Ltd
	The payment of performance incentive payments to Remploy employees is subject to individuals meeting agreed business and individual targets. The business targets include achieving and improving budgeted Operating Result; job entry targets and achieving costs reductions. Individual targets relate to personal performance set against a number of objectives agreed with managers at the start of the financial year.

Personal Independence Payment

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he will take to monitor Capita and Atos in the approach they take with personal independence payments applicants.

Esther McVey: The contracts with Atos and Capita include service level agreements setting out the Department's expectations, including quality of assessments, number of days to provide advice to the Department and evidence of claimant satisfaction. These service level agreements will be monitored and where appropriate financial remedies will be applied.

Personal Independence Payment

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2013, Official Report, columns 751-2W, on personal independence payment, if he will estimate the number of potential personal independence payment applicants who do not have a landline telephone in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

Esther McVey: The Department has no plans to estimate the number of potential claimants to personal independence payment who do not have a landline.
	We will offer freephone lines for people to make a personal independence payment claim. Calls to the 0800 numbers are free from BT landlines and most mobiles and will only take a short time. We can call claimants back on request.

Personal Independence Payment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Atos will perform health assessments for the personal independence payment; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: Atos will be carrying out assessments in Scotland, North West and North East England, and in London and Southern England. Capita Business Services will be carrying out assessments in Wales and central England.
	Atos and Capita were selected following the usual procedures for open and fair competition and assessed against established and published selection criteria.

Personal Independence Payment

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to ensure audio recording is available for all personal independence payment assessments.

Esther McVey: Audio recording of PIP assessments will not be offered by Atos or Capita. The DWP has not seen evidence from other disability assessments that this would improve the quality of assessments. If claimants wish to record their assessment they must inform the assessor in advance and provide the assessor with a copy of the recording.

Personal Independence Payment

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of days there will be between a personal independence payment assessment and the claimant receiving a copy of the assessor's report.

Esther McVey: Decisions on benefit entitlement will rest with a departmental decision maker. The assessor's report forms just one part of the evidence for a claim. We do not routinely provide the report to claimants following assessment as this could give a false impression to the claimant on the outcome of their claim. The length of time taken to make a formal decision on entitlement will vary depending on the nature of each claim. Claimants will receive a letter from the decision maker including a summary explaining the reasons for the decision and the evidence considered. Claimants will at this point be able to request a copy of their assessment report if they wish to do so.

Personal Independence Payment

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to ensure that personal independence payment applicants are reminded to provide additional evidence if they are particularly vulnerable, have difficulties self-reporting their condition or if their conditions fluctuate.

Esther McVey: Questions during the claim stage identify those claimants with additional support needs and this information remains visible throughout the journey. Once a claimant has submitted their claim we will send them a form on which they will be able to provide additional details in support of their claim. The form will ask claimants to describe, in their own words, how their disability or impairment affects them. It also recommends that any further medical evidence is returned along with the form. This might include information from the family members.
	Claimants will also be encouraged to bring someone with them to any face-to-face consultations to support them and, where appropriate, help the health professional understand the claimant's circumstances.

Personal Independence Payment

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with Atos on personal independence payment applicants and (a) their choice of location for assessment and (b) their choice of times and dates for assessment.

Esther McVey: Atos will be working with physiotherapy clinics, local hospitals and medical centres to offer PIP claimants familiar surroundings and experienced health professionals. All consultation centres will meet accessibility standards as defined in the Equality Act 2010. If a face-to-face consultation is required, claimants will be invited to the most convenient location but will be able to request a different time or location if necessary.

Personal Independence Payment

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how a deaf person will be informed of any decision on their application for personal independence payments.

Esther McVey: All claimants for personal independence payment will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application including the reasons for the decision.

Personal Independence Payment

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to ensure that all potential applicants for the personal independence payment will be aware that they can request a paper form if they do not use a telephone.

Esther McVey: In exceptional circumstances, where a claimant is unable to deal with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by phone, or needs extra help, they can request a paper version of the personal independence payment (PIP) initial claim form. This captures the same basic information that DWP take over the phone. The forms will be personalised to the individual who requested them, and should not be copied or used for other claimants.
	DWP Communications will appropriately publicise the availability of this facility in its public information about PIP.

Personal Independence Payment

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to ensure that the claim process for personal independence payment will be accessible to deaf people.

Esther McVey: DWP is committed to enabling communication with claimants who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired. We have standard processes in place across all of DWP to support deaf people. To enable people to make their own claim, a third party can act as interpreter and “be their voice” as long as the claimant is present during that call. DWP staff have guidance to help them understand the help required and support available via alternative formats.

Personal Independence Payment

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements will be made for the accountability of assessors during the personal independence payment assessment process.

Esther McVey: All personal independence payment health professionals must go through a comprehensive training programme and pass an assessment of competence before they can carry out assessments. In addition, they must be approved by the Department's Chief Medical Advisor. A programme of audit will confirm that individual health professionals continue to meet these standards.
	Where a health professional's advice is of poor quality and could result in an incorrect decision, the case will fail the audit activity. Where assessors fall below the required standards and do not improve, processes are in place to revoke their approval to carry out assessments. Assessment providers must conform to a rigorous set of performance measures regarding the quality of advice. If the provider fails to deliver against these measures, agreed service credits will be applied.
	Ultimately the Department has the right to terminate the contract if there is sustained underperformance in a range of areas.

Personal Independence Payment

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether ATOS is to be required to offer claimants a choice of a home visit or centre based assessment as part of the personal independence payment assessment process as in the case with Capita.

Esther McVey: Atos is not required to offer claimants the choice of a home visit. The contracts between the Department for Work and Pensions and Atos, and Capita, set out the circumstances in which face-to-face consultations will take place in the claimant's home. These are:
	at the claimant's request, if the assessor agrees that their health condition or disability means they are unable to travel;
	when the claimant provides confirmation, through the professional providing evidence to support their claim, that indicates they are unable to travel on health grounds; or
	at the DWP's request, although these will be exceptional circumstances.
	Capita has chosen to develop a business model which offers claimants the choice of a home visit although this is not a contractual requirement.

Personal Independence Payment

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether ATOS will be required to match claimants with the most appropriate assessor wherever possible during the personal independence payment assessment process.

Esther McVey: Both Atos and Capita are required to ensure that the health professionals carrying out assessments have knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments. The Department does not believe that it is necessary for providers to deploy health professionals who are specialists in the specific conditions or impairments of the individuals they are assessing. Instead the focus is on ensuring that the health professionals are experts in disability analysis, focusing on the effects of health conditions and impairments on the individual claimant's daily life.

Universal Credit

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of freezing the minimum wage on the number of people claiming universal credit.

Mark Hoban: No such assessment has been made within universal credit. From 1 October 2013 the following changes will be made to national minimum wage (NMW) rates.
	From October 2013:
	The adult rate will increase by 12p to £6.31 an hour
	The rate for 18 to 20-year-olds will increase by 5p to £5.03 an hour
	The rate for 16 to 17-year-olds will increase by 4p to £3.72 an hour
	The rate for apprentices will increase by 3p to £2.68 an hour and
	The accommodation offset will increase by 9p to £4.91 per day.
	The Government is committed to the NMW because of the protection it provides to low paid workers and the incentives it provides to work. Around 2 million of Britain's lowest-paid workers will gain from these changes.
	Updated forecasts of welfare spending, taking account of this and other relevant factors, will be published with the autumn statement.

Universal Credit

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to keep universal credit disregards in line with tax allowance decisions.

Mark Hoban: The universal credit work allowance means that people's earnings up to a certain level are ignored when calculating how much universal credit a person should receive. This means people with earnings below that level will keep the full value of their award and they will see a cash reward straight away for moving into work. The work allowances are more generous than the disregards in the current benefit system, which is one reason why people will see a clearer reward from working when universal credit is introduced.
	In addition, we announced in the autumn statement 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-882:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/as2012_index.htm
	that we will increase the universal credit work allowances by 1% in 2014-15 and 2015-16. This is more generous again than the current system, where disregards have not been uprated routinely in recent years.
	People in receipt of universal credit will see a smaller increase to their income following the personal allowance increase than those who do not receive benefits. However, the Government believes that increasing the personal allowance is the most effective way to support those on low and middle incomes, because it enables people to keep more of the money they earn.

Universal Credit

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the April 2013 tax allowance increase was taken into account when the disregards for universal credit were designed.

Mark Hoban: The universal credit work allowance means that people's earnings up to a certain level are ignored when calculating how much universal credit a person should receive. This means people with earnings below that level will keep the full value of their award and they will see a cash reward straight away for moving into work. The work allowances are more generous than the disregards in out-of-work benefits, which is one reason why people will see a clearer reward from, working when universal credit is introduced.
	People in receipt of universal credit will see a smaller increase to their income following the personal allowance increase than those who do not receive benefits. However, the Government believes that increasing the personal allowance is the most effective way to support those on low and middle incomes, because it enables people to keep more of the money they earn.

Work Experience Programme: Scotland

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Scotland were involved in work experience under the Work Programme benefit scheme in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what the average number of working days worked was.

Mark Hoban: Official statistics on Work Programme participants involved in work experience are not available.

JUSTICE

Legal Aid Scheme

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations on legal aid.

Jeremy Wright: Legal aid policy is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Legal aid issues are an occasional feature of ministerial discussions with colleagues in the devolved Administrations. Ministry of Justice officials are also in contact with their counterparts in the devolved Administrations.

Offenders: Fines

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to improve offender profile information; and what analysis is made of the reasons why some offenders fail to comply with their payment plans for fines.

Helen Grant: Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does not have access to offender profile information which shows the reasons why offenders fail to comply with payment terms.
	HMCTS takes the issue of fine enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on fine defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS are always looking at ways to improve the collection of fines. As a part of the future strategy HMCTS will be considering numerous ways in which performance can be improved, which could include offender profiling.
	The information HMCTS holds on offenders is provided by the prosecuting authorities, the offenders themselves, and by using the tracing tools HMCTS has at its disposal such as the Experian credit reference agency and the Department for Work and Pensions customer information system. Payment plans are agreed based on the financial information provided by the offenders to enable those who are unable to pay in full at once to complete the payments of their fines over a reasonable period of time.
	The information obtained from these sources does not provide any indication why certain groups of offenders fail to follow the agreed payment plans.

Offenders: Fines

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make an assessment of the relationship between (a) illness, (b) debt and (c) family breakdown and the late payment of court fines.

Helen Grant: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does not have any way of identifying offenders who fall into the groups mentioned.
	HMCTS takes the issue of fine enforcement very seriously and as part of the future strategy, HMCTS will be considering numerous ways in which performance can be improved, which could include offender profiling.
	The information HMCTS holds on offenders is provided by the prosecuting authorities, the offenders themselves and by using the tracing tools HMCTS has at its disposal such as the Experian credit reference agency and the Department for Work and Pensions customer information system. The means form, which defendants are asked to complete, requests details of income and outgoings, including loan amounts they are repaying and how many dependant children they have, but as many defendants do not provide financial means information to the court, HMCTS does not know what other financial commitments they have.

Police Cautions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the average number of previous convictions was of those issued with a caution in each year from 2002 to 2012 (a) in England and Wales and (b) by police authority area;
	(2)  how many people issued with a caution had (a) no previous convictions, (b) one to five previous convictions, (c) six to 10 previous convictions, (d) 11 to 20 previous convictions and (e) over 20 previous convictions (i) in England and Wales and (ii) by police authority area in each year from 2002 to 2012.

Jeremy Wright: The use of cautions is at its lowest level for more than five years, as is the number of cautions issued to those who have a previous criminal record. However, the public and victims have a right to expect that people who commit serious crimes should be brought before a court. On 3 April 2013 we launched a review into the use of cautions which will focus on the use of cautions for serious offences and persistent offenders.
	Among other things, the review will examine whether there are some offences for which the use of simple cautions is generally inappropriate, the reasons why multiple cautions are given to some criminals and the difference in the use of cautions by police force areas. The review is a significant step to ensuring that cautions are used correctly, in the interests of justice, and command the confidence of the public. The review will be completed by the end of May 2013.
	The figures used to answer the PQs are based on counts of caution occasions. An individual may have more than one caution occasion within each year. Where there is more than one offence on the same occasion only the primary offence is counted for which a caution is given. In addition please note that the police force information only relates to the most recent caution and police forces for previous cautions/convictions may differ.
	In response to PQ 140270 Table 3 shows the average number of previous convictions committed by offenders receiving a caution in each year from 2002 to June 2012, for England and Wales.
	In response to PQ 140271 Table 4 (part i) and table 5 (part ii) show the number of previous convictions for offenders committing an offence and receiving a caution in each year from 2002 to June 2012, England and Wales.
	The use of cautions fell dramatically with the change in emphasis of the Offences Bought to Justice target in 2008, and the final removal of the Offences Brought to Justice measure in 2010.
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	I have placed copies of these tables in the House Library.

Probation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the investment needed in IT systems in order to implement the proposals in the consultation paper Transforming Rehabilitation, published in January 2013;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the ability of its IT systems to implement his plans for transforming rehabilitation.

Jeremy Wright: The Department's current ICT infrastructure and some of its systems will be modified to support the transforming rehabilitation proposals, including facilitating the sharing of information with a number of different providers. Providers will develop their own ICT systems to support their business processes. Any changes to the ICT infrastructure and systems need to affordable within the context of the Ministry of Justice's commitment to deliver annual savings of over £2 billion by 2014-15. We will bring forward detailed plans in due course.

Probation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements his Department plans to put in place to deal with complaints against private companies and the voluntary sector as part of his plans for transforming rehabilitation.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice's consultation on plans for reforming the way in which offenders are rehabilitated in the community closed on 22 February. We are committed to maintaining high professional standards across the probation service and are drawing on the responses to the consultation to develop an appropriate approach to maintaining these standards. We will bring forward detailed plans in due course.

Probation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the 12-month reoffending rates were for those under supervision by each probation trust in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what the 12-month reoffending rates were for people under supervision by the probation service in each year since 1997.

Jeremy Wright: The information is as follows:
	PQ150378
	These figures are published quarterly and can be found in table 24 (adult offenders starting court orders) and 25 (adult offenders released from prison on licence) in the publication ‘Proven re-offending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin’ and available via this link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending
	PQ150379
	These figures are published quarterly and can be found in table 18a (for adult offenders starting court orders) and Table 25 (adult offenders released from prison on licence) in the publication ‘Proven re-offending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin’ and available via this link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending

Sexual Offences: Police Cautions

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in each police force area have received (a) one and (b) more than one caution for sexual offences in the last year.

Jeremy Wright: The use of cautions is at its lowest level for more than five years, as is the number of cautions issued to those who have a previous criminal record. However, the public and victims have a right to expect that people who commit serious crimes should be brought before a court. On 3 April 2013 we launched a review into the use of cautions which will focus on the use of cautions for serious offences and persistent offenders.
	Among other things, the review will examine whether there are some offences for which the use of simple cautions is generally inappropriate, the reasons why multiple cautions are given to some criminals and the difference in the use of cautions by police force areas. The review is a significant step to ensuring that cautions are used correctly, in the interests of justice, and command the confidence of the public. The review will be completed by the end of May 2013.
	The table shows the number of people given one, and more than one, caution for a sexual offence in England and Wales in the 12 months ending September 2012 (the latest data available).
	The decision whether to offer a caution is an operational matter for the police and in some circumstances the CPS depending on the circumstances of the offence and offender. Court will always be the right place for serious and contested cases and those involving prolific offenders. However, there will always be exceptional cases in which a prosecution for what appears to be a relatively serious offence is not in the public or the victim's interest.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of offenders given a caution for a sexual offence, split by police force area and number of cautions given, in England and Wales 12 months ending September 2012 
			  Number of cautions(1) 
			 Police force One More than one 
			 Avon and Somerset 55 0 
			 Bedfordshire 14 0 
			 British Transport Police 18 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 26 0 
			 Cheshire 14 0 
			 City of London 1 0 
			 Cleveland 20 0 
			 Cumbria 8 0 
			 Derbyshire 18 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 60 0 
			 Dorset 13 0 
			 Durham 26 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 26 0 
			 Essex 46 0 
			 Gloucestershire 13 0 
			 Greater Manchester 53 0 
			 Gwent 18 0 
			 Hampshire 41 0 
			 Hertfordshire 24 0 
			 Humberside 35 0 
			 Kent 69 0 
			 Lancashire 66 0 
			 Leicestershire 45 0 
			 Lincolnshire 23 0 
			 Merseyside 14 0 
			 Metropolitan Police 146 0 
			 Norfolk 32 0 
			 North Wales 15 0 
			 North Yorkshire 12 0 
			 Northamptonshire 5 0 
			 Northumbria 50 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 49 0 
			 South Wales 17 0 
			 South Yorkshire 30 0 
			 Staffordshire 43 0 
			 Suffolk 20 0 
			 Surrey 18 0 
			 Sussex 37 0 
			 Thames Valley 50 0 
			 Warwickshire 11 0 
			 West Mercia 36 2 
			 West Midlands 65 0 
			 West Yorkshire 57 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Wiltshire 14 0 
			 (1) The data in Table 1 includes caution occasions and the primary offence committed for each caution occasion is the one used to determine the offence type. Where an individual has more than one caution within the year, the police force of the most recent caution has been used. Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

Telephone Services

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  for each of the principal access numbers operated by (a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he is responsible, what revenue has been retained by (i) the telephone provider for that line and (ii) his Department in each of the last three years;
	(2)  which telephone lines are operated by (a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he is responsible for public enquiries or other services; what the (i) principal access number and (ii) telephone service provider is for each number; and which such lines (A) are free to the caller and (B) may incur a charge to the caller.

Helen Grant: For the purposes of this answer, 'principal access numbers' have been interpreted as being the main public inquiry lines which the Department is responsible for supplying. These are listed as follows, together with their relevant service suppliers.
	Ministry of Justice: 020 3334 3555—Colt;
	National Offender Management Service (including HM Prison Service): 0300 047 6325—Level 3;
	Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman: 020 3334 2900—Colt
	Law Commission: 020 3334 0200—Colt
	Office of the Public Guardian: 0300 456 0300—TalkTalk;
	Official Solicitor: 020 7911 7127—Level 3;
	The Parole Board: 0300 047 4600—Level 3;
	Youth Justice Board: 020 3334 5300—Colt.
	Calls to these numbers may incur a charge to the caller. The Ministry does not hold information on what revenue has been obtained by the telephone provider for these lines in each of the last three years. No revenue has been retained by the Department for these lines in each of the last three years.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Bishops: Females

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent progress the Church Commissioners have made on legislation relating to women bishops.

Tony Baldry: As I reported to the House on the 7 March 2013, in my answer to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson), Official 
	Report, column 1122, the consultation document issued on 8 February generated 376 responses by the closing date of 28 February. Of these, 10 were from organisations and, three from bishops. Of the remaining 363 submissions, 154 were from General Synod members and 209 from others.
	The Working Group has had three further meetings since the end of February, the last of them involving further facilitated discussions with those who had met with the group for two days in February.
	At its next meeting the group will conclude its report to the House of Bishops. It will be for the House to decide at its meeting on 20-21 May what legislative proposals to bring to the next General Synod meeting in July.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Commission on the Consequences of Devolution for the House of Commons

Frank Field: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to respond to the Report of the Commission on the Consequences of Devolution for the House of Commons.

Chloe Smith: The Government established the McKay Commission to consider how the House of Commons might deal with legislation which affects only part of the UK.
	The Government is grateful to the Commission for its work. This is a very important issue, which is why the Government asked this expert Commission to consider it. We are giving the report serious consideration before we respond.

Dementia

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Office has a dementia strategy.

Nicholas Clegg: I consider dementia and mental health to be a priority for Government. That is why the Cabinet Office and the Department of Health are supporting the Dementia Friends Campaign with a grant of £2.4 million. This is being delivered in partnership with the Alzheimer's society.
	The Dementia Friends campaign aims to train over 6,000 dementia friends' champions who will each recruit and train at least 150 people, resulting in 1 million dementia friends by 2015. More information can be found here:
	http://www.dementiafriends.org.uk/
	This campaign compliments the Prime Minister's challenge to create more ‘Dementia Friendly Communities’, which is part of the Alzheimer's Society's five-year strategy, ‘Delivering on Dementia’. More information can be found at:
	http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1843

Electoral Register

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what consideration he gave to assisting (a) narrow-boat tenants and (b) other people with no fixed postal address to register to vote under his plans for individual voter registration.

Chloe Smith: As part of the move to individual electoral registration (IER), the Government has taken into account those with no fixed address and will continue to provide a facility for these individuals to register to vote by allowing them to complete a ‘Declaration of Local Connection’ as at present. Such electors include residents on boats/house boats and people of no fixed residence.
	Under IER, such applicants will be required to provide as part of the declaration, the same personal identifiers as other categories of applicants, and an exceptions process will be available for applicants who do not have a national insurance number.
	A boat, houseboat or other residence which has a permanent mooring is treated by registration officers as a permanent dwelling in which an elector may be resident for registration purposes, and residents can be registered as electors in the standard way. If the boat or other residence does not have a permanent mooring, then it is open to the resident(s) to make a Declaration of Local Connection. The residents should register at a place where they spend the most time or where they have some connection, such as the area where they were last permanently registered or any boatyard they may use for maintenance.

Lobbying

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Government will respond to the Second Report of the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Introducing a statutory register of lobbyists, HC 153, published on 10 July 2012.

Chloe Smith: The Government is grateful to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee for its inquiry into our consultation on initial proposals for a statutory register of lobbyists and for its subsequent report.
	Given the volume and substance of the evidence submitted both to the consultation and the Committee, the Government is taking the time to give the matter sufficiently detailed consideration. We will publish our response to the Committee in due course.

CABINET OFFICE

Big Lottery Fund: North Lanarkshire

Pamela Nash: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications for Big Lottery funding were received from (i) Airdrie and Shotts constituency and (ii) North Lanarkshire local authority area in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The following tables provide information on the number of awards made by the Big Lottery Fund and the number of unsuccessful applications received between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2012. The figures relate only to full applications, includes applications that were withdrawn by the applicant. The criteria applied is whether the address of our main contact is in the specific location—this does not necessarily mean the beneficiaries of the funding are in the same location.
	
		
			 Airdrie and Shotts constituency 
			 Financial year Number of applications Number of awards 
			 2007-08 46 28 
			 2008-09 44 30 
			 2009-10 71 47 
			 2010-11 60 32 
			 2011-12 59 36 
			 Grand total 280 173 
		
	
	Total value: £3,695,556
	
		
			 North Lanarkshire local authority area 
			 Financial year Number of applications Number of awards 
			 2007-08 199 117 
			 2008-09 188 113 
			 2009-10 243 168 
			 2010-11 233 133 
			 2011-12 226 142 
			 Grand total 1,089 673 
		
	
	Total value: £14,549,265